A Community's Response to Suicide Through Public Art: Stakeholder Perspectives from the Finding the Light Within Project

American Journal of Community Psychology - Tập 52 Số 1-2 - Trang 197-209 - 2013
Nathaniel V. Mohatt1, Jonathan B. Singer2, Arthur C. Evans3, Samantha L. Matlin3,1, Jane Golden4, Catherine T. Harris4, James Burns4, Catherine Siciliano5, Guy Kiernan6, Margaret Pelleritti6, Jacob Kraemer Tebes1
1Division of Prevention and Community Research and The Consultation Center, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 389 Whitney Avenue, 06511-2369 New Haven, CT, USA
2Temple University College of Health Professions and Social Work, Philadelphia, PA, USA
3Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services, Philadelphia, PA, USA
4City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, Philadelphia, PA, USA
5Greater Philadelphia Chapter, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Philadelphia, PA, USA
6Finding the Light Within Community Artists, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Tóm tắt

AbstractSuicide is a preventable public health problem and a leading cause of death in the United States. Despite recognized need for community‐based strategies for suicide prevention, most suicide prevention programs focus on individual‐level change. This article presents seven first person accounts of Finding the Light Within, a community mobilization initiative to reduce the stigma associated with suicide through public arts participation that took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 2011 through 2012. The stigma associated with suicide is a major challenge to suicide prevention, erecting social barriers to effective prevention and treatment and enhancing risk factors for people struggling with suicidal ideation and recovery after losing a loved one to suicide. This project engaged a large and diverse audience and built a new community around suicide prevention through participatory public art, including community design and production of a large public mural about suicide, storytelling and art workshops, and a storytelling website. We present this project as a model for how arts participation can address suicide on multiple fronts—from raising awareness and reducing stigma, to promoting community recovery, to providing healing for people and communities in need.

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American Journal of Community Psychology

Tập 52 Số 1-2

197-209

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