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A moment of appreciation for people who made amazing things during a terrible time Victor D. Infante Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK
FIRST PERSON
Suicide loss support is prevention: Support Out of the Darkness central Mass. Abigail Salois Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK
For close to one year, since my older sister, Liza, died by suicide, I have been waiting for the other shoe to drop. While my older brother cleared brush alone on the property of his new home, I panicked that a tree limb would fall and crush him. I worry that something terrible has happened to my mother when she has not contacted me in a day. Though my worries seem irrational, they can be destabilizing. While my daughter sat contentedly listening to me read “Curious George” before bed, tears fl ooded my eyes and I worried after her future mental health, hoping fervently that bedtime stories could help
keep her safe. I fi nd myself thinking that if anything were to happen to one of my two children, the other would be alone. Sudden death is traumatic; it causes us to see danger where it may not exist. I recognize that my fear is partially a trauma response, but there was also some validity to my dread because suicide does tend to run in families. Many of us who have lost a loved one to suicide wonder in terror how far the ripple will extend and who else might be lost. The Centers for Disease Control lists “family history of suicide” as a factor that contributes to suicide risk. Decades before Liza died, our paternal grandfather died by suicide after he received an inopSee SUPPORT, Page 12
Amid the turmoil of COVID-19, it’s easy to fi xate on the things that are gone, whether they were shut down directly because of the lockdown, such as Pageboy Hair Studio, because of the indirect economic consequences of the pandemic, such as Fairway Beef in Worcester, or just plain gentrifi cation, such as the Bridge Academy and Community Center. It’s hard to remember that new things have appeared, too, and not just Polar Park. Restaurants such as Chashu Ramen + Izakaya, Suzette Crêperie & Café and Thai Corner have emerged, as have venues such as the BrickBox Theatre at the JMAC. There’s also been a great deal of public art, from new statues to things that are a bit more whimsical. “Public art is the most accessible and equitable form of artistic expression,” says Che Anderson, former Deputy Cultural Development Offi cer for Worcester and current assistant vice chancellor for city and community relations for UMass Medical School, “allowing artists and community alike to speak to current events and the state of our society. Be it the Black Lives Matter mural, which aff orded local artists an opportunity to amplify Black voices and stories, or the Give Me A Sign project, aimed at calming and uplifting the com-
Tam Le and Son Vo pose for a portrait inside their new restaurant, Chashu Ramen +Izakaya, which is on 38 Franklin St. in Worcester. SABRINA GODIN/SPECIAL TO TELEGRAM & GAZETTE
munity, or the recent installation of the Bob Cousy statue, which gave the community a platform to celebrate one of its most beloved heroes, public art allowed us to come together at a time where many felt alone and isolated.” Not that it’s always easy, but it can be immensely rewarding, both for the community and the artist. Ryan Gardell, who has been involved with creating murals both on the back wall of Polar Park and for POW! WOW! Worcester, says, “My personal experiences in creating public art during the
COVID era have been quite intriguing. I’ve noticed that it brings people a bit of optimism, especially when it’s unexpected, it provides a splash of color in what could otherwise be a dull, gray world in that person’s reality. Street art provides a brief escape from our typical cultural narratives, it reinforces the notion that the world is in fact a beautiful place, and not the scary, deadly war zone that we’re told it is. If someone cares enough about a wall to spend hours and See MOMENT, Page 11
