This month, the Bethany’s Hope Foundation is presenting its third annual 988 art exhibit to help promote suicide prevention awareness in our local area.
Bethany’s Hope was founded by Melissa Lawson-Grubb after she lost her daughter, Bethany, to suicide in 2018. The foundation uses special events throughout the year to help spread the word about suicide prevention awareness. Among those events is their annual art exhibit, which is now in its third year.
The theme of this year’s exhibit is “be the light in the darkness,” and it features original art pieces that were created by local high school students. 32 students submitted entries for this year’s exhibit, which is on display through the end of the month at the Whitley County Community Arts Extension office in downtown Williamsburg.
“We want to help the youth in our area,” Grubb said. “We felt like we weren’t getting through to kids that resources are out there and available to them, so we started getting more engaged in the schools that are in our community.”
Grubb said that one of the foundation’s main goals is to get young people to understand that they can access help if they need it anytime by contacting the 988 crisis line. She explained that asking students to create pieces of art that are inspired by 988 and the mission of suicide prevention awareness is a great way to really make that idea stick.
In addition to having their work displayed at the Community Arts Extension during the month of September (Suicide Prevention Awareness Month), student artists will also have the opportunity to have their pieces voted on by visitors to the exhibit. The top three vote getters will be awarded gift cards, and one piece will be selected by a special panel of artists to have their submission featured on a 988 billboard located just off of I-75.
Voting is underway now at the Community Arts Extension and will continue through this Friday, Sept. 13. Hours of operation are 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
For additional information on the Bethany’s Hope Foundation, follow along with them on their official Facebook page. The foundation will host their Annual Suicide Prevention Awareness walk in downtown Williamsburg on Saturday, Sept. 21, and they will present their horse ride on Saturday, Oct. 19, at Patrick’s Point.
