84 Sculptures Appear On Top Of A Building In London To Bring Awareness To Male Suicide Problem
On monday morning passersby in central London witnessed a shocking sight: 84 men standing on the edge of every ITV studio building as if they were about to leap to their deaths. Regardless of how realistic they may seem, these men aren’t human. In fact, they are lifelike figures made by artist Mark Jenkins as part of Project 84, a campaign that seeks to raise awareness of male suicide in the UK.
According to charity CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably), suicide is the leading cause of death among men under 40 in the UK. With this in mind, the charity created Project 84 which highlights the chilling statistics — on average 84 men in the UK commit suicide each week. Every figure perched on top of the ITV studio buildings represents a real man who committed suicide. The stories of these men have been told by their family and friends and are chronicled on the Project 84 website.
CALM strives to change the conversation regarding men and mental illness. Their goal is not only to assist the families who suffered a loss of a loved one, but also to get the government to be proactive. Despite the alarming statistics, there is no cabinet minister in the UK officially responsible for suicide prevention. CALM is trying to change that with an online petition which already has more than 10,000 signatures.
You can save lives by joining the conversation. Check out what else you can do on CALM’s website.
More info: projecteightyfour.com
In London, 84 men were noticed standing on the edge of every ITV studio
Image credits: CALM
Turns out, they are lifelike figures made by artist Mark Jenkins as part of Project 84
Image credits: PA
Project 84 is a campaign that seeks to raise awareness of male suicide in the UK
Image credits: CALM
According to charity CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably), suicide is the leading cause of death among men under 40 in the UK
Image credits: PA
Chilling statistics informs that on average 84 men in the UK commit suicide each week
Image credits: CALM
Every figure perched on top of the ITV studio buildings represents a real man who committed suicide
Image credits: CALM
CALM strives to change the conversation regarding men and mental illness
Image credits: REX
There is no cabinet minister in the UK officially responsible for suicide prevention. CALM is trying to change that with an online petition
Image credits: REX
This project encourages people to join the conversation about alarming male suicide rates. You can help too
Image credits: PA
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Share on FacebookMental illness is a huge problem, but abusive work is a huge cause of suicide as well. And the worst part is, whoever tries to speak up for their rights is shut down as "the lazy one who doesn't want to work". Here in Korea suicide rates are high too. Big hug to you, U.K.
no offence meant to you but i hate how high suicide rates are in Korea and how they deal with mental illness with general they act like its not their and something needs to be done about it
Load More Replies...the stereotype of a 'man' and what we should and shouldn't be, how we should feel and what we should do about it is so far from what is real, a strong mind can over come this, but even the strongest can succumb to dark thoughts, weak thoughts. It's ok to be weak, to cry, to have emotions, to not know what to do. It's ok to not be ok. This also applies to women, children, the elderly, all people everywhere, we're all in this together. Together.
But depression is not the result of having "weak thoughts". It's because a person's brain chemistry is off balance. It's because a person has a loss of synaptic connectivity that the normal brain has and of course we all know there are a multitude of other things going on there. I get what you're saying but to say it's the result of weak thoughts is really an unfortunate misconception that many people perpetuate.
Load More Replies...While this is an interesting idea, and probably a good thing overall, I hope it's temporary. People should not get used to seeing people posing like that; they should not be taught to wonder if it's just a statue. That sight needs to continue to provoke an immediate gut reaction which hopefully translates to calling the professionals for help.
That’s a good point. You don’t want people to become desensitized to seeing something like this. Sort of overkill on their part.
Load More Replies...While I admire and probably agree with this concept, I desperately hope it is temporary. I have struggled with battling suicide for many years and I work next to one of those buildings. Fortunately I have a week off this week but seeing these pictures makes me feel physically sick and I cannot conceive of being able to go to the office next week if these remain - my instinct goes straight to 'how could I get up on that roof', I'm just not strong enough to sit and see those all day while trying to 'act normal' as I have to
Hmmm. Not sure how to feel. It's powerful, it's alarming. I respect that. But I'm one of those men and not entirely sure what it's doing for us. I guess I should be grateful that it's raising awareness of mental health issues. But even having worked in the sector I don't feel comfortable talking about mine. In some ways, it's comforting. Makes you feel like less of a freak.
I have friends struggling with severe depression. When I went to one of their houses, they had locked up every knife and pair of scissors in the house to prevent themselves from cutting. It's just so sad that anyone should have to live this way, and how little is being done around the world.
Something is up when 85% of the people that commit suicide are men. I'm glad that the brits are doing something about it, in Spain, with third wave feminists controlling and censoring public opinion that would be impossible. Anyhow, if you are reading these lines and you are feeling down seek for help. There is always a solution.
If I wanted to commit suicide, I'd go there. I could stand on that building all day, contemplating, and no one would even see me until I jumped. Fantastic camouflage.
well what if a real man tries to commit suicide and everyone thinks hes one of these statues?
That's the point though... The more upsetting, the more effective.
Load More Replies...So a hypothetical situation is "far more alarming" than a very real issue? Do you hear yourself? It's also not "gender discrimination", focusing on an issue that affects one gender significantly more isn't sexism. Globally, more men successfully commit suicide than women. That is a fact.
Load More Replies...Mental illness is a huge problem, but abusive work is a huge cause of suicide as well. And the worst part is, whoever tries to speak up for their rights is shut down as "the lazy one who doesn't want to work". Here in Korea suicide rates are high too. Big hug to you, U.K.
no offence meant to you but i hate how high suicide rates are in Korea and how they deal with mental illness with general they act like its not their and something needs to be done about it
Load More Replies...the stereotype of a 'man' and what we should and shouldn't be, how we should feel and what we should do about it is so far from what is real, a strong mind can over come this, but even the strongest can succumb to dark thoughts, weak thoughts. It's ok to be weak, to cry, to have emotions, to not know what to do. It's ok to not be ok. This also applies to women, children, the elderly, all people everywhere, we're all in this together. Together.
But depression is not the result of having "weak thoughts". It's because a person's brain chemistry is off balance. It's because a person has a loss of synaptic connectivity that the normal brain has and of course we all know there are a multitude of other things going on there. I get what you're saying but to say it's the result of weak thoughts is really an unfortunate misconception that many people perpetuate.
Load More Replies...While this is an interesting idea, and probably a good thing overall, I hope it's temporary. People should not get used to seeing people posing like that; they should not be taught to wonder if it's just a statue. That sight needs to continue to provoke an immediate gut reaction which hopefully translates to calling the professionals for help.
That’s a good point. You don’t want people to become desensitized to seeing something like this. Sort of overkill on their part.
Load More Replies...While I admire and probably agree with this concept, I desperately hope it is temporary. I have struggled with battling suicide for many years and I work next to one of those buildings. Fortunately I have a week off this week but seeing these pictures makes me feel physically sick and I cannot conceive of being able to go to the office next week if these remain - my instinct goes straight to 'how could I get up on that roof', I'm just not strong enough to sit and see those all day while trying to 'act normal' as I have to
Hmmm. Not sure how to feel. It's powerful, it's alarming. I respect that. But I'm one of those men and not entirely sure what it's doing for us. I guess I should be grateful that it's raising awareness of mental health issues. But even having worked in the sector I don't feel comfortable talking about mine. In some ways, it's comforting. Makes you feel like less of a freak.
I have friends struggling with severe depression. When I went to one of their houses, they had locked up every knife and pair of scissors in the house to prevent themselves from cutting. It's just so sad that anyone should have to live this way, and how little is being done around the world.
Something is up when 85% of the people that commit suicide are men. I'm glad that the brits are doing something about it, in Spain, with third wave feminists controlling and censoring public opinion that would be impossible. Anyhow, if you are reading these lines and you are feeling down seek for help. There is always a solution.
If I wanted to commit suicide, I'd go there. I could stand on that building all day, contemplating, and no one would even see me until I jumped. Fantastic camouflage.
well what if a real man tries to commit suicide and everyone thinks hes one of these statues?
That's the point though... The more upsetting, the more effective.
Load More Replies...So a hypothetical situation is "far more alarming" than a very real issue? Do you hear yourself? It's also not "gender discrimination", focusing on an issue that affects one gender significantly more isn't sexism. Globally, more men successfully commit suicide than women. That is a fact.
Load More Replies...
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