The above statistics are from 2022. 

The Pinwheel Project
 

September is National Suicide Prevention Month. To bring awareness to the devastating amount of people who died by suicide, Prevent Suicide Columbia County has created "The Pinwheel Project". 

 

During the month of September there will be a display of 924 pinwheels. 915 purple pinwheels to represent those who lost their lives by suicide in Wisconsin, and 9 green pinwheels to represent those who lost their lives by suicide in Columbia County. Not only are we honoring those who lost their lives we also want to honor their loved ones. We know that 1 death by suicide severely affects 15-30 people (Cerel et al., 2018). With that being said in 2022 a total of 13,860-27,750 Wisconsinites were severely affected by suicide. 

 

Why Pinwheels? 

A pinwheel can represent many things, but mostly it is thought to represent a time when things were simple and natural. Its bright colors convey hope and vitality.  All things which are needed when we are thinking about those who lost their lives by suicide.

Pinwheels also move by wind, wind which can make us feel connected to those who have passed which Mary Green so elegantly said in her poem "Never Far Away".

 

 

 
 

Never Far Away

"I’m gone now, but I’m still very near.
Death can never separate us.
Each time you feel a gentle breeze,
It’s my hand caressing your face.
Each time the wind blows,
It carries my voice whispering your name.
When the wind blows your hair ever so slightly,
Think of it as me pushing a few stray hairs back in place.
When you feel a few raindrops fall on your face,
It’s me placing soft kisses.
At night look up in the sky and see the stars shining so brightly.
I’m one of those stars and I’m winking at you and smiling with delight.
For never forget you’re the apple of my eye."

- Mary M Green