September is Suicide Prevention Month, which seems like an unlikely tie-in for my series of columns about art and metrics. But, the data on suicide is dire. In the United States alone:
- Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death.
- More people die of suicide than in car accidents.
- Military veterans have double the rate of suicide as nonveterans.
- The suicide rate of LGBTQ youth and adults is three times the national average.
And, of course, there is a solid connection between art and suicide; enough of my favorite artists—visual and written—took their own lives. But I’m not interested in being that sort of ghoulish, especially when, instead, I can talk about work that looks to alleviate the loneliness of depression and fund suicide prevention. Honestly, I can’t believe it took this sort of in-your-face connection to bring me around to exploring the metrics and results of popular art project PostSecret. Its creator didn’t start it to be about suicide specifically, but, by it’s very nature, it led people to share thoughts about loneliness, depression, suicide and gave a sort of release valve to those feelings.
If you’re not familiar…well, why ruin the sense of discovery. Check out the slideshow I made below to learn about the project, its influence and the connection to Suicide Prevention Month.