A new mural near the middle school in Plattsburgh has a simple message against suicide: you matter.
This summer, Outside Art in Plattsburgh, in conjunction with suicide prevention advocates, completed a mural adjacent to the middle school. It will be dedicated this weekend, but first came a community kickoff Wednesday evening to promote awareness and suicide prevention.
The You Matter mural stretches 140 feet along the back of a building facing the Stafford Middle School. It includes the suicide prevention hotline number 988 and notes you can call, text or chat if you need emotional support, are struggling with substance use, are feeling suicidal or if you are worried about someone else.
In conjunction with the mural’s dedication, suicide prevention advocates in the region are planning an intense education campaign about the hotline.
Clinton County Coalition to Prevent Suicide Chair Bonnie Black says the action plan aim is to prevent suicide in all ages.
“And educate more people in the North Country about how important it is to learn about warning signs, risk factors, protective factors and whatever every single one of us can do to prevent someone from dying by suicide.”
Monahan Medical Vice President of Operations Andy Sepcie sponsored the evening forum. He lost a friend to suicide when he was 18 and believes the mural featuring the hotline will be a big help to people in crisis.
“It gives them an opportunity to be able to call somebody anonymously and talk. Sometimes people don’t feel that they want to burden a loved one, a friend, because they think that it’s trivial and then it just festers and continues to grow. This way they can actually reach out to somebody and not have that stigma of somebody judging them. So I think it’s a good opportunity for people to be able to have additional resources to help them through a mental health crisis.”
Sepcie noted that when the meeting began organizers asked how many people were familiar with the 988 hotline. Only eight people raised their hands. He was among those who was unfamiliar with it.
“When I sponsored it I saw it was 988. Still had really no idea of the depth and breathe of the program but this allowed me to understand that. And really what we need to do as a community is get that information into everybody’s hands. People need to know that it’s an available resource.”
Black explains that in 2022 the National Suicide Lifeline was replaced by the more localized 988 hotline.
“We realized, people in the suicide prevention world, that we really need to give callers specific information for where they physically are at this point in time. Because when you’re on the call with someone who is in an emotional crisis they need to know where to go. It’s nice to call and get the support right now but what about in the next hour or tomorrow?”
MHAB, or Meaningful Habits Around Behavior, is a recovery and life skills campus in Plattsburgh. Founder Mike Carpenter has known a number of people who have taken their lives.
“We don’t talk enough about this and what we need to do to get to people before they get to that moment of utter desperation. And so I look at this stuff and I embrace any of these things that save a life. You know we don’t realize that one person ends their life, it’s the ripple effect for all the other people that it effects for the rest of their life. And when I think about people who get to that place of desperation, imagine how lonely that feeling is right before they actually, you know, the act happens. And we need to stop that.”
Black says the mural is already creating awareness about suicide prevention and promoting the 988 hotline.
“When it was being painted students were coming out. Of course I had a lot of giveaways too – stress balls, fidget pens – things like that. But I’m going to keep bringing those everywhere I go. People love it and it has 988. It’s branded on everything that we are giving away so people understand this is your resource if you’re concerned about somebody, if you’re having a crisis yourself, anybody can call 988 for assistance.”
The 988 You Matter Mural will be dedicated at noon on Saturday.
