LET'S NOT WAIT FOR CRISIS TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS.
CURRENTS
Pratt Institute Senior Thesis
2021
About:
Currents, an ever-evolving sociocultural movement, that embarks to bring awareness to suicide prevention, and de-stigmatize open dialogue about mental health. Currents’ movement is conceptualized to manifest in a bright lens which celebrates seeking help instead of seeking self-inflicted fatality.
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Featured in - Pratt Shows 2021
Background:
Did you know that suicide is the 10th leading cause of death overall in the United States?
The 2nd leading cause of death among individuals between ages of 10 and 34?
And the 4th leading cause of death among individuals between ages of 35 and 54.
I had no idea that there were more than 2 and a half times as many suicides in the United States as there were homicides.
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Widely reported studies modeling the effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on suicide rates, predicted increases ranging from 1% to 145%. Essentially, this is another pandemic, a mental-demic, that very few people are talking about.
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Since the Pandemic began, $175 billion in emergency funding has been allocated to hospitals and other medical facilities, but less than %1 of that has gone specifically to mental health and substance abuse services. With suicide rates predicted to increase, how can we prevent this issue without adequate financial support?
Research:
During the process of collecting research from online sources to support my design strategy, I realized reading wasn’t enough. To truly grasp the severity of this issue, I wanted to discover uncovered narratives through quantitative studies. By creating an anonymous online survey, I realized that I could reach a plethora of individuals who were open to speak about mental health.
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Over a 4 week period, an attitude and awareness study of sucide and mental health correlating with the impact of COVID-19 was conducted using an online survey that involved respondents to answer 18 questions openly.
