Ashland University unveils suicide awareness bench
It is easy to see on campus.
It is welcoming.
And, most importantly, it is meant to help anyone at Ashland University and in the community who is struggling with their mental health.
AU unveiled a suicide awareness bench with a ribbon cutting ceremony Friday afternoon on the sidewalk next to the Rec Center leading to Kates Gymnasium in front of a good-sized crowd of AU students, faculty and staff, as well community members.
“I hope that this bench is a bright light to people on campus, as well as the community, as it reminds them that there is help out there if they are struggling with their mental health or if they are thinking about taking their own life,” AU junior Sarah Watson said to the crowd. “With the bench being bright yellow it symbolizes hope and awareness for mental health. The color yellow was chosen because it stands for hello, representing a friendly gesture that can make someone feel less alone and more supported.”
Watson, president of the 16-student Wellness Team that formed about a year ago at AU and wellness intern for the university's Department of Recreation and Wellness, was one of four speakers at the unveiling.
Janel Molnar, director of Recreation and Wellness, opened the ceremony by speaking about how the bench made its way to Ashland.
“In early September, I was contacted by a woman, Cindy, who lives in Florida,” Molnar said. “Cindy’s son, Josh, died by suicide at the age of 21 in 2018. Six months after he died, Cindy began a nonprofit organization called Josh’s Awareness Benches. Cindy has made it her life’s mission to have at least one awareness bench in every state. Currently, she has over 135 benches in 28 states.”
All the benches are donated by the Josh’s Benches for Awareness organization. Molnar said she doesn’t know who identified AU as a good place in which to donate a bench but is very thankful to whomever did. Ashland’s bench arrived in late October.
Each location chooses its own quote on the recycled plastic benches to go above the words: Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Molnar asked Watson to choose AU’s quote, which Watson chose as “Stay another day. KEEP GOING” because she has been a big advocate of suicide awareness since arriving on campus a few years ago. Watson’s father died by suicide when she was 10 years old, and that quote has helped her get through some rough days since her father’s death. She started using the quote on campus to help others going through tough times, too.
“I hope this bench will remind students that there is help out there and to keep going, as well as for daily awareness to this serious topic on campus, as well as the community,” Watson told Friday’s crowd. “I encourage all of you to be bold with your mental health. What I mean by that is being bold with seeking help and reaching out, whether it is for you or for someone else, for seeking help is a sign of strength not weakness.
“This bench will also be a constant reminder to people and the families affected by suicide that not only Josh but others who have died by suicide will forever be in our hearts,” Watson added. “Stay another day and keep going Eagle Nation.”
David Ross, executive director of the Mental Health & Recovery Board of Ashland County, and Robert Pool, Ph.D, vice president of Student Affairs at AU, also spoke.
Both of them stressed the many resources available on campus and in the community for people struggling with their mental health, as well as the many people on campus and in the community who are working to improve suicide awareness and prevention and are available to anyone who needs help. Information for many resources were available on a table at the ceremony.
One of those resources is listed on the bench. It reads: If you want to talk – Call 988.
In 2020, Congress designated the 988 dialing code to be integrated with the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
While reading Josh’s story to the crowd, Molnar became emotional and shed a few tears. The same thing happened after the ceremony as she talked about the positive impact the new bench on campus could have.
“There’s a bench that everyone can see; there’s an easy number that everyone can call,” she said. “So, it’s a beautiful thing.”
