A suicide attempt is made once every minute in the United States; a suicide is completed once every 15 to 18 minutes. The annual suicide rate is higher than the mortality rates from homicide, AIDS, and most forms of cancer.
Live Through This is a project about life on the other side of a suicide attempt.
Through the presentation of portraits of suicide attempt survivors and the stories they share, the mission of Live Through This is as follows:
· present suicide as the complex, multi-dimensional issue it is;
· reduce stigma and break down stereotypes associated with suicide and who considers/attempts it by showing the viewer the faces of those who have lived through the experience and gone on to lead successful, fulfilling lives;
· increase awareness of suicide as a pervasive social issue that no one is immune to;
· promote suicide prevention education;
· encourage dialogue about suicide, especially if a loved one is potentially at-risk;
· reduce the fear and taboo of "suicide" as a dirty word.
I believe I can begin to achieve these goals by embracing individuals who have come out from behind their veil of shame to tell me--and the world--who they are now and who they were, where and how they got there, and what brought them to a place in time where they relish their ability to continue living. In sharing their journeys of struggle and survival, we can begin to honor, respect, and educate in an open and accepting forum. The hope is that our voices will strengthen and compel those in need (self, family, friends, co-workers) to get the help they require.
Ideally, the work will culminate in gallery exhibitions, as well as in book format.
I am currently seeking the help of individuals who have attempted suicide, and who are willing to both share their story with me and sit for a portrait. If this catches your fancy, please contact us. Tell us your age (21+ ONLY, please), location, and as much as you're comfortable with sharing about your past experience with suicide, as well as what your life looks like now. Please be willing to sign a model release.
It should be noted that this is a long-term project, and thus, it may take some effort to coordinate meeting/shooting sessions, especially if you are located outside of the immediate New York City area. Your patience is greatly appreciated.
My name is Dese'Rae L. Stage. I am a photographer who makes pictures of people who make life worth living. Executed in bold color and high contrast, the majority of my work centers on musicians and the live show experience. My images address music as emotional catharsis and, in many cases, isolate the artist as a singular, untouchable figure. I am self-taught.
In December 2005, I completed my Bachelor of Science in Psychology at East Tennessee State University, where I helped to co-author a comprehensive self-injury self-report (SISR) measure as a part of my undergraduate studies. I also participated in developing studies looking at the influence of stigma on interpersonal relationships of self-injurers; the effects of knowledge and conservatism on the stigma of self-injury; suicidality and responses to attempters; and the relationships between intimate violence, self-esteem, sexual orientation, and gender. I am trained in crisis intervention, including time served in 2005 as a hotline counselor and rape care companion at the Crisis Center in Bristol, VA. I have participated in LivingWorks’s Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) and am a certified QPR Gatekeeper.
I am a survivor of nine years of self-injury and a suicide attempt catalyzed by an emotionally and physically abusive lesbian relationship. I was diagnosed with Bipolar II Disorder in 2004, but have regulated fluctuations in mood without medication and have been functioning at a high level since 2006.
I live in New York City with my wife, Katie, and our menagerie of pets with people names. You can see more of my work at deseraestage.com
If you feel you are in crisis, don't hesitate to ask for help. Talk to a friend or family member, or call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 and remain 100% anonymous.
I finally started shooting for Live Through This (LTT) yesterday. This has been a long time coming. I feel incredible, and incredibly inspired.
If you’re not familiar with LTT, it’s a project about life on the other side of a suicide attempt. Suicide is a terrifying epidemic. Instead of talking about it, we make broad generalizations about who it affects (ie., not us), and then sweep it under the rug and hope it will disappear. It won’t. Suicide knows no age, creed, race, or sexual orientation. It does not discriminate.
The best we can do to combat this epidemic is face it and talk about it. LTT will be a collection of portraits and the accompanying stories of those who have tried to commit suicide and found reasons to live. It’s a topic extremely personal to me. I’ve lost friends to it, and I nearly lost myself to it five years ago. I’d like to see the project fully actualized in the form of a book and traveling exhibition in coming years.
With this collection of stories, we can start a conversation. We can show the world that the face of suicide is multicultural, ageless, gender and sexual identity neutral. We can start to help people see that the easiest way to combat suicide is to have the balls to ask someone if they’re suicidal and then, if they are, find them help. Armed with this collection, we can help people to see that there is always an ear to listen and a shoulder to cry on, that there is a reason to live through this painful moment in time.
This has been my passion project for well over a year now. I’ve spent all this time reaching out to strangers, setting super ambitious goals that were destined to fail, and agonizing over nitpicky logistical details. All of which resulted in one thing: paralysis. I recently made the decision to scale back and start with the basics. That way, growth will be organic. There will be obstacles along the way, but that’s how progress is made. Eventually, I’d like LTT to be large scale and multifaceted, but everyone has to start somewhere.
All of that said: I’m starting with the stories and portraits of people local to the New York area. I’ll also be in Miami from 12/20-12/23 and Orlando from 12/24-12/27. I want to meet and photograph as many people as possible. Strength in numbers, right? This will help me to gather a small catalog of images to show potential backers when I actually launch the Kickstarter project I’ve been talking about. Then I can travel to everyone who wants to share their story.
I can’t do any of this alone, though. I’d just be spinning my wheels. I need your help. So:
If you would like to participate in Live Through This, please contact me.
If you think you know someone who might be interested, please pass along the link to this entry or to the LTT website.
If you’re sympathetic to the cause, please tweet about it, or post a link on Facebook or G+, and ask your friends to re-post it. The more eyes that see this, the better.
If you want to follow LTT on Twitter, you can do that here.
If you want to buy a LTT logo t-shirt, you can do that here.
Thank you so much for reading, considering, and any help you’re willing to give. I promise: this will save lives.
