Editor’s note: This article contains references to suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. You can call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
On Thursday, two Bowling Green residents will head downtown with an unusual invitation: Sit down. Talk. Cry if you need to. Or, if words aren’t what you need, just ask for a hug.
Kenny Sheets and Kai Niek plan to spend time at the corner of Main and Wooster in downtown Bowling Green on Sept. 10, World Suicide Prevention Day. They will offer strangers something they say can be difficult to find — a chance to talk openly with someone who doesn’t know their name, their family, or their story.
And they’ll be wearing blindfolds. The idea is intentional, and not their original idea. Sheets said they saw the idea in YouTube videos.
Niek said the blindfolds are meant to give people a greater sense of anonymity and comfort, allowing them to say what they need to say without worrying about being recognized or judged later.
“When it’s a stranger, I feel like you have the opportunity to be so much more open and honest,” Niek said.
Sheets and Niek both said they have struggled with their mental health and understand how important it can be to have a support system. Their goal Thursday isn’t to present themselves as professionals or to tell people how to solve their problems.
Instead, they want to listen.
They’ll have chairs available for people who want to sit and talk, along with signs explaining what they’re offering. One sign will say, “If you need a hug today, hug me.”Another will read, “If you need someone to listen, I will.”
The event will also include information about community resources for people who may need additional support.
The event comes as the World Suicide Prevention Day theme reaches the final year of its 2024-2026 campaign, “Changing the Narrative on Suicide,” with the call to action, “Start the Conversation.”The campaign encourages people to challenge stigma, listen without judgment and create environments where people feel comfortable speaking up and seeking help.
That’s exactly what Sheets and Niek plan to do. Though they are quick to point out that starting that conversation doesn’t necessarily mean someone has to be at the point of a suicide crisis.
“Times are tough, and people are struggling,” Sheets said. “This is a place where someone can simply admit they’re having a difficult time or experiencing dark thoughts without feeling that they have to identify themselves or explain everything. You just need to talk about whatever’s on your mind and just let the venting go.”
That anonymity is one reason the pair decided on the blindfolds.
They hope someone who might otherwise hesitate to approach a stranger will feel safer knowing there is no expectation to exchange names or personal information.
The two also plan to provide resource information, including 988 and 211, as well as information from local organizations and services. Their research has included resources connected to Harbor, The Connection Center, NAMI, BGO Pride, the Community Health Center, Transcendence Artist Coalition and others.
The effort also grows out of a broader desire by both individuals to help people who may feel as though they have nowhere to turn. It’s a sentiment they both understand and relate to.
Now, Niek maintains a small community resource center, providing items such as sexual health, harm reduction, self-care and survival supplies, as well as information for neighbors who may need help. They started doing so after noticing a lack of resources and recognizing that people can sometimes be embarrassed to ask for help.
The same philosophy is behind Thursday’s gathering: Make it easier to take the first step.
“If we can offer them community even just briefly and be able to show them that community exists and get them some resources, maybe they never have to get there,” Niek said.
Sheets described it as survivors helping survivors — but also helping people before they reach a crisis point.
The pair hopes Thursday’s gathering will demonstrate that support doesn’t always have to come in the form of a formal appointment or a difficult conversation with someone you already know. Sometimes, it can start with a stranger sitting beside you downtown.
They expect to begin setting up around 9:30 or 10 a.m. on the southeast corner, and plan to be available until about 2 or 3 p.m.
For Sheets and Niek, Thursday is an experiment in what community can look like when people make themselves available to one another. They hope it won’t be a one-day effort.
“If we can do it more often, I would love to do it more often,” Niek said.
For one day in downtown Bowling Green, the message will be simple: “You don’t have to give your name. You don’t have to have the right words. You can just sit down and talk. Or, if words escape you, you can just ask for a hug.”
