A 麻豆传媒映画woman is speaking out about her efforts to post anonymous messages of support and hope on the railings of the Lions Gate Bridge, in an attempt to reach anyone who may be considering suicide.
Earlier this month, Mindi Reynolds, 35, organized a group of friends and family to create about 70 inspirational signs, then attach them with zap straps to the bridge railings just ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day on Sept. 10.
The signs contain simple statements like 鈥淵ou are beautiful,鈥� 鈥淵ou are important鈥� and 鈥淵ou are brave to be here. You can survive beyond this place.鈥�
Reynolds said she got the idea after reading about a young woman in England, Page Hunter, who started a similar campaign on the Weymouth Bridge.
鈥淚 thought if this young woman can do something, there鈥檚 really no reason we can鈥檛 make a global movement,鈥� said Reynolds.
鈥淚 thought it was important to target that bridge,鈥� said Reynolds, because than any other bridge in B.C.
Reynolds said she鈥檚 aware of debates that have happened on issues like.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of jurisdictional rigmarole,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 thought, 鈥業 can do this. It doesn鈥檛 cost anything.鈥欌��
Reynolds said part of the reason she is passionate about the cause stems from her own struggle with mental health issues when she was younger, which included two suicide attempts, as well as a friend who committed suicide.
Reynolds said when she was in the grip of very dark feelings, 鈥淚 sometimes felt like I couldn鈥檛 be heard. That there was no possible way anyone could understand what I was feeling.鈥�
The messages on the bridge are meant to reach out and tell people that life is worth living and that those feelings of despair aren鈥檛 permanent.
鈥淚t definitely resonates with me,鈥� said Reynolds. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of stigma behind the topic. A lot of people don鈥檛 want to talk about it. It鈥檚 important to many of us that the stigma is ended.鈥�
One famous study tracked more than 500 people who were prevented from jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco for 30 years, and found 90 per cent of them went on to live normal lives and did not die by suicide.
Reynolds said she and her group were 鈥渞eally trying to be as sensitive as possible鈥� in the messages they posted. Some are gentle and some are more assertive in tone. But all are centred on the idea that every life is important and worthy.
Liz Robbins, distress services co-director with the Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention Centre of B.C. says she thinks the notes are a wonderful effort to provide a sense of hope to those who may be having suicidal thoughts.
鈥淚t shows how invested someone is in providing some help to someone else,鈥� she said.
Often people who are suffering from depression and mental illness struggle with feelings of isolation, she said, 鈥渆ven if they are surrounded by people.鈥�
Six crisis phones on the Lions Gate Bridge connect directly to a crisis hotline at the centre. Since April, there have been six calls from the bridge. The year before that, there were seven calls.
Reynolds says if her notes reach even one person, it will have been worth the effort. 鈥淟ife is important to me,鈥� she said. 鈥淓veryone鈥檚 life is important to me.鈥�
Reynolds added she鈥檚 hoping to make the creation of the bridge messages an annual event.
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Crisis help
If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call one of the following crisis hotlines, which are staffed around the clock:
麻豆传媒映画Coastal Regional Line 604-872-3311
1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433)
310-Mental Health Support (310-6789).
Online crisis help is also available from 12 p.m. to 1 a.m. daily at: youthinbc.com (youth to 24) and crisiscentrechat.ca (adults 25 and up).
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