TAUNTON, MA, UNITED STATES, December 26, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ — “My world was forever changed on July 17, 2014, when my precious daughter Kacie Elizabeth Palm died by suicide at the age of 14,” Steve Palm writes on his web page https://www.thekacieproject.org.

“Kacie was kind and considerate. She was generous. She was affectionate and greeted everyone with a hug. She loved to laugh and be goofy. She had a family that she loved and loved her. She had lots of friends. She is deeply missed.”

A few months ago, Palm’s nonprofit donated funds to have “You Matter” messages displayed on a billboard on route 24 in West Bridgewater MA and on more than 100 lawn signs with the same message for business or home properties throughout Bristol County MA & beyond.

Long term Bristol County activist Annemarie Matulis noted that, “The CDC released a report that stated that 50,000 people died by suicide in the US in 2021. That number represents approximately 1% of those who struggled with suicidal ideation and did not die. We need to do much better to follow up and support the other 99% who experienced ideation to take suicide off the table, to stay.”

Palm’s The Kacie Project https://thekacieproject.org/ is extending its efforts stepping into into 2024 with another billboard along route 24 in West Bridgewater and more lawn signs to raise awareness about the national 988 suicide prevention lifeline number.

“The billboard is just one prevention tool,” Matulis observed. “Those lawn signs can serve as a constant reminder to the community that the suicide prevention lifeline is there. Often, what a person struggling needs most is someone to simply listen. Talk really can save lives.”

Matulis further noted, “Recent National AD Council research reflected that many people in the US are not even aware that 988 is the new, quick access to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. People can call or text, it’s available in Spanish, and if you press the number 1 (one), you can access the line for veterans. Losing one person to suicide is unacceptable. Losing another 50,000 is a tragedy. We must do better. We must do more.

“As the Director for the Bristol County Suicide Prevention Coalition, we support not only Steve’s efforts and also those of our many advocate families, and ask others throughout the county to post these lawn signs. Let’s begin the New Year carrying a message of hope.”

To secure a lawn sign at no cost, contact (call/text) Steve Palm at (508) 813-2120. The MCSP Bristol County Regional Suicide Prevention Coalition is one of ten (10) Regional Suicide Prevention Coalitions within the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention (MCSP) https://www.mcspnow.com/ .

Annemarie Matulis
Bristol County (MA) Suicide Prevention Coalition
+1 508-922-7278
[email protected]
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