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Gone But Not Forgotten
The suicide prevention and mental health community mourns the loss of one of their own, Amy Bluel. Bluel is best known for her nonprofit organization dedicated to presenting hope and love for those who are struggling with mental illness, suicide, addiction and self-injury, Project Semicolon. Established in 2013, Project Semicolon exploded into social media consciousness in 2015 when pictures of semicolon tattoos inspired by the project took off. The project was built on the premise that authors use a semicolon when they could have ended a sentence but didn’t.
“Everyone who self-harms, is suicidal, depressed, has anxiety, is unhappy, going through a broken heart, just lost a loved one, etc., draw a semicolon on your wrist. A semicolon represents a sentence the author could’ve ended but chose not to,” said Bluel. “The author is you and the sentence is your life.”
Sadly, Bluel took her own life on March 23 at the young age of 31. Bluel’s legacy will live on in our hearts and on the skin of the millions of people who identified with the semicolon sign enough to tattoo it on their wrists as a reminder to always keep going.
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800)273-8255, or text the Crisis Text Line at 741-741.
“My story isn’t over . . .”- Amy Bluel
Resources:
https://themighty.com/2017/04/amy-bleuel-suicide-death-message-lives-on/
https://themighty.com/2017/03/amy-bleuel-founder-of-project-semicolon-dead/
Jill Hamilton, Project Coordinator, The Kim Foundation
Jill Hamilton has been the Project Coordinator at The Kim Foundation since 2014. She graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a Speech Communication Minor from The University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2009. Since working at the foundation, she has become an active member of the Nebraska State Suicide Prevention Coalition and The Metro Area Suicide Prevention Coalition, Nebraska LOSS Advisory Committee, The Early Childhood Mental Health Coalition, is Chair of the Nebraska LOSS Teams Conference Planning Committee, and serves as the Outreach Coordinator for the Metro Area LOSS Team.