Suicide awareness fundraiser at Claremore tattoo studio

Sept. 11--The semicolon -- the much-maligned punctuation which, when used properly, separates major sentence elements, and can be between two closely related independent clauses (provided they're not already joined by a conjunction).

But the significance of the semicolon goes beyond its function in a sentence.

Just ask Claremore man Rich Wallace.

Wallace, tattoo artist and owner of Secret Ink Tattoo in Claremore, dedicated his entire day yesterday to the humble semicolon as a means to both raise awareness of death by suicide and raise money to help combat depression leading to death by suicide.

"In recognition of World Suicide Prevention Day, I opened my day up to offer semicolon tattoos to customers for a donation of $20, which will be donated to combat the mental illness of depression and benefit local suicide hotlines," Wallace said. "The significance of the semicolon comes from a movement called 'Project Semicolon', which is dedicated to presenting hope and love to people struggling with depression, suicide, addiction and self-injury.

"The semicolon differs from a period or an exclamation point, for example, in that it signifies that it's not the end of something -- there's more to come; the story doesn't stop," he said, "and in this movement, the semicolon has come to symbolize that there should always be more to come for all of us. We should never look at a bad day or a bad circumstance to mean our end -- each of us should continue and be aware that there are people struggling with the idea that they're considering their own 'end'."

Beginning at 6:30 a.m., Wallace applied semicolon tattoos (with a donation) to persons who, like himself, have felt first-hand the devastation of suicide.

"I had a lady here from Grand Lake Mental Health -- her husband committed suicide, and nearly everyone, customer or now, either knows someone struggling with depression or dealing with it themselves," he said. "It's one of the hardest-to-diagnose mental illnesses in existence and those getting the semicolon tattoos are doing so in recognition of those having to deal with this, letting them know they're not alone."

Most of the tattoos applied, Wallace said, were behind the ear or on the wrist, where they can be visibly seen but easily covered when necessary.

"Everyone is going to deal with depression at some point in their life -- divorce, illness, loss of job, etc. -- and many people get through it, but there are those who don't," he said. "A chain of support is crucial -- having someone to talk to through the difficult times -- and when such a person might see the semicolon (tattoo) on someone else, even if they might not know that person, they may recognize this as a show of support and encouragement -- that they're not as alone as they may think."

Wallace has previously held similar fundraisers at his tattoo studio, such as offering pink ribbon tattoos for a donation to the Susan Koman Foundation, applying puzzle piece tattoos for donations to benefit autism research, a "Toys for Tats" fundraiser, in which he gave tattoos of a Christmas bow in exchange for toys to go towards children in need, and others.

"I'm still tabulating the total amount of money raised Thursday, but any amount is certainly helpful to combat the mental illness of depression," he said. "No one should have to deal with the devastation of this mental illness that could, at its worst, lead to death by suicide. This is my small way of using my talents to raise awareness about this problem, get people talking, and hopefully, make a difference."

For more information about Project Semicolon, visit www.projectsemicolon.com.

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