Project Semicolon

Today is the 16th April, meaning that it is actually World Semicolon Day so I thought that I would explain to you all what Project Semicolon is and how you can get involved.

Project Semicolon is an American nonprofit organisation that aims to and is passionate about preventing suicide. The project was founded in 2013 by Amy Bleuel, ten years after the death of her father by suicide. Amy herself had a tough childhood and developed mental health problems, she also struggled with addiction. Sadly, Amy lost her own fight on March 23rd, 2017 at 31 years old, the cause of her death was ruled as suicide. 

The project claims how they aim to "present hope and love to those who are struggling with depression, suicide, addiction, and self-injury". They have also been known to encourage people who have struggled with mental illness or lost someone to suicide to draw or tattoo a semicolon onto their bodies, to create a bond between the people who carry them. 

On Semicolon Day, the project teams up with tattoo shops across the globe to give out free semicolon tattoos. Semicolon Day is all about Mental Health Awareness and inspiring the world to take action. The people working for Project Semicolon aren't mental health trained so they do advise individuals to use other hotlines if they are in a crisis.

The project has become worldwide and many people are aware of what the semicolon means but if you aren't then the project explained how "a semicolon is used when an author could've chosen to end their sentence, but chose not to. The author is you and the sentence is your life".

Personally, I was keen on getting a semicolon tattoo as I adore the idea and meaning behind it but I didn't want it big or too bold so I actually incorporated it into the outline of a tattoo that I got with my best friend who I met whilst in hospital. There are so many different semicolon tattoos and I love each and every one of them but it is understandable that not everybody wants a tattoo. 

In 2017, Project Semicolon released a paperback book called 'Your Story Isn't Over' which reveals dozens of stories from people of all ages, speaking about what they have been through and what they hope to achieve in the future. The book allows other people who struggle to feel less alone and I am definitely going to be purchasing it myself. The book can be purchased from Amazon here.

Thank-you for reading, Tay x

Links & Resources:
Project Semicolon: https://projectsemicolon.com/
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Semicolon
Instagram: @projsemicolon
Book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Project-Semicolon-Your-Story-Isnt/dp/0062466526