TENAFLY – The semicolon is not just a punctuation mark; it represents hope for those living with depression and mental illness.
Inspired by Project Semicolon – a global non-profit movement aimed at promoting awareness of mental illness, depression and suicide – the Tenafly High School Impact Ambassadors and the Psychology Club hosted an event on Dec. 11 to promote awareness of the organization, mental illness and depression.
"By raising awareness, we're changing the basis of the issue," said Aly Hudson, a senior and co-president of Impact Ambassadors.
The students created an informative commercial discussing Project Semicolon and raised $290 in donations for CarePlus, a mental health care facility with locations throughout North Jersey, through the sale of temporary semicolon tattoos and a bake sale.
According to Hudson, the event went "incredibly well."
"Absolutely everyone was interested in stopping by and talking to us. People where really interested in the tattoos," she added.
While not all of the students where able to contribute to the sale, Hudson was happy to get her classmates involved with the event and interested in the cause.
"It's more about promotion. Raising money is great … however we think we [got] a great turnout for donations because [these are] important issues," Hudson said.
Psychology Club advisor Jackie Sung said while she had hoped for a larger student turnout, the event was an overall success.
"We were able to raise awareness of depression and encourage people who do suffer from depression to speak out and not be afraid," Sung said.
According to Hudson, this is the group's biggest event thus far. In the past, the Impact Ambassadors conducted a food drive, a senior citizens prom and a day of natural beauty, an event that encouraged students to come to school without wearing make-up or dressing up to promote positive body image.
While Hudson will graduate at the end of this year, she said her club is passionate about Project Semicolon's message and interested in hosting future promotional events.
Leigh Barker, the faculty advisor for Impact Ambassadors, said there was a "great turnout for a first time event," and both the students and club members were passionate about the cause.
Hudson said she was compelled to advocate for Project Semicolon because she has friends and classmates that live with depression.
"I feel like a lot of the time I've had friends who suffer from depression and it's often an issue that makes people feel alone," Hudson said.
"To promote it at a community level shows [people] they don't have to suffer alone. There's a community support structure in place," she added.
An estimated 20 percent of teens age 13 to 18 live with a mental illness, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
"By bringing awareness to the issue of depression, showing solidarity with struggling peers by wearing the tattoo, and providing information for accessing help, the club initiated an act of care for members in the Tenafly student body who might be really stressed right now," Barker said.
Email: bahrenburg@northjersey.com