Project Semicolon: 600 Edmontonians get tattoos to raise awareness for depression

The line-up outside the Prince of Wales Armouries started at 8 a.m. and curled around the block.

The semicolon tattoo is fast catching on as a way to show support for people suffering with depression, and more than 600 Edmontonians got inked on Sunday to show just that.

“A lot of people in line today have either had thoughts of suicide, have had friends or family members commit suicide, or just simply want to support people struggling with mental illness. And I find it really inspiring.” Momentum executive director Kim Knull told The Edmonton Sun.

The idea behind the semicolon tattoo comes from Project Semicolon.

The website for the group says they’re a “faith-based movement dedicated to presenting hope and love for those who are struggling with depression, suicide, addiction and self-injury.”

They say the project exists to “encourage, love and inspire.”

A dozen local tattoo artists donated their time to the Edmonton event The Sun says was organized by the Edmonton Mental Health Awareness Committee.

Della Steinke, who partnered with Project Semicolon to bring an event to Winnipeg earlier this summer, told CTV News at the time the semicolon is “about a sentence that the author could have ended but decided not to.”

Steinke told CTV Morning Live she fought depression after her son was seriously injured in a 2010 crash and it looked, at times, like he might not live.

“It was after the third or fourth month in hospital that I decided if he was going to go, I was going to go with him,” she said on the show.

Funds raised from the Edmonton event will be going to Momentum Walk-in Counselling, a mental health centre meant to help people who either can’t pay or can’t wait for help through the traditional system.

The web site for the organization lists their goal as being “to empower you to connect with your strengths and formal and informal supports to transform your life, one hour at a time.”

Momentum has helped more than 2,000 people since it opened its doors in 2013, The Sun reports.

They say the group runs on a pay-what-you-can basis and hoped to raise $50,000 from the event.