What do Adults Need to Know About Teen Mental Health.

Completed during May (Mental Health Awareness Month), 2023

Artists: Designed & Painted by Jess Bean of J Bean Art with animation by Drew Anderson of MOHDI

 

This piece is the culmination of two years (2021-2023) of The Alliance for Suicide Prevention Cards Program asking over 10,000 local youth to anonymously respond in writing to the prompt “What do adults need to know about teen mental health”. The Alliance’s Youth Advisory Council decided to feature the responses on a mural and forged a partnership with artist Jess Bean, the Fort Collins Mural Project, and the United Way of Larimer County to bring the piece to life. The project was also funded by youth through Give Next Grants, supported by The Bohemian Foundation, and the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado.

 

Artist Statement: Jess is facilitating the outermost faces to represent the parts of our psyche that can be both visible and hidden to the naked eye. One representing the “positive” emotions and one representing the “negative”. One representing the feminine and one the masculine that reside in all of us. Jess chose to use a joyous playful expression to express how warning signs and cries for help are often overlooked by friends and family. Not from lack of caring, rather because people struggling with mental illness are still capable of laughter and moments of happiness even while in the midst of their darkest moments.

 

The circles in the background are representative of the ripple effect created by our mind

expanding on thoughts so quickly. The outer ripples alternate between 4-5 ft apart as an

infographic for the current statistic of Larimer County losing a person to suicide every 4-5 days. Each circle is outlined with statements from the youth.

 

Jess’ goal of this mural is to start conversations that can be difficult but life changing in the most positive ways, and to give perspective that struggling with mental health is not uncommon or shameful, especially, with Colorado consistently ranking in the top 10 states for deaths by suicide.