Amy Bleuel, Founder of Project Semicolon, Passes Away at 31

April 1, 2017

Amy Bleuel, known in the mental health community as the person behind the popular semicolon tattoo, passed away on Thursday, March 23 at the age of 31, Project Semicolon confirmed to The Mighty on Wednesday.

Update March 30 8:45 a.m. PST: The Mighty has confirmed Amy died by suicide. Please when reporting on this story, refer to Recommendations for Reporting on Suicide.  For whoever needs help right now, you can contact the Crisis Text Line by texting “START” to 741-741, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.3552

If you see a semicolon as more than just punctuation, you probably know Amy. Her movement, called Project Semicolon, is a global nonprofit dedicated to presenting hope and love for those who are struggling with mental illness, suicide, addiction and self-injury.

She told The Mighty in 2015, “In literature, an author uses a semicolon to not end a sentence but to continue on. We see it as you are the author and your life is the sentence. You’re choosing to keep going.”

The semicolon manifested in both drawings and tattoos and quickly became a sign of hope for those who struggled with self-harm and suicidal thoughts.

In The Mighty community, people have written about their semicolon tattoos, and again and again we would see semicolon tattoos in the pictures people share with us.

Thank you for the impact you’ve had on the mental health community, Amy. You will be missed.

Related: If Amy Bleuel’s Death Leaves You Feeling More Helpless, Please Remember This

If you or someone you know needs help, visit our suicide prevention resources page.

If you need support right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 741-741.25

Correction: This article originally incorrectly reported Amy passed away on Friday, March 24. Project Semicolon let us know the correct date is Thursday, March 23.

MIGHTY PARTNER RESOURCES

• If you need to talk, call 800-273-TALK (8255) for free, confidential, 24/7 help.
• Get help for yourself
• Get help for someone else
• If you are outside of the US, please visit iasp.info to find resources in your area.

via National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

By Sarah Schuster                                                                                                                                      … https://themighty.com/2017/03/amy-bleuel-founder-of-project-semicolon-dead/ via @TheMightySite

Written by Tina Posted in Blog