Charity fiascos are so hard to stomach

LOSING a loved one through suicide is one of the most devastating tragedies a human being can sustain. After the shock and the grief, there can be guilt and confusion, as well as anger at the person who, however unintentionally, caused such immense suffering by their dying.

It is a feat of almost unparalleled courage and endurance to cope with such a vortex of emotions, to find the strength to carry on knowing so much about human vulnerability.

In that sense the allegations of serious financial mismanagement in Console, the charity established to offer counselling to the public, have a devastating impact on the people it aims to assist – the thousands nationwide who suffer from mental health issues including depression, as well as their families.

It also is a cruel blow to people such as Derry Clarke, who bravely tried to draw something good from his 16-year-old son’s suicide, by throwing himself into fundraising for the charity.

‘I’m very disappointed with what has happened... I think that this has done untold damage to the charity,’ said Mr Clarke who runs the popular l’Ecrivain restaurant. ‘I’m disappointed and hurt for the people who have collected money for Console and fundraised. Unfortunately it has damaged the charity, but we have to remember that one person’s actions should not reflect on the whole organisation.’

His words echo the anger, frustration and disappointment we all feel at each charity scandal that emerges.

At each series of allegations of inflated pay packets and perks for charity chiefs, of casual record-keeping and false accounting, we’re torn between the desire to keep an essential service – which the State can’t afford to run – going, and to see an end to rip-offs in the sector.

Unfortunately, as each fresh scandal erupts, the evidence builds up, pointing to one obvious conclusion – that time is running out on the charity sector being given the benefit of the doubt.