This is for those who died here. May you find the peace you sought. - graffiti on viaduct

In October 2006, before embarking on this themed art project, I found the above graffiti written on the wooden barrier that runs along the Bloor Street Viaduct. As a newcomer to Toronto, I was unfamiliar with the viaduct's recent past and finding this message and the one below sparked my interest in learning more.

Once one of the world's most notorious suicide magnets - second only to San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge - the Bloor Street Viaduct saw 400 people jump from its edge. Now, thanks to the City of Toronto's successful installation of a suicide barrier in 2003, the jumps from the Viaduct have ceased.

However, what still remains are the scars left from past victims. l have noticed, from my experience documenting the bridge over the past year, that the Viaduct appears to now be a place to go for personal reflection. Although I have seen messages of despair, many more are written to reach out to those who may be contemplating taking their own lives.

Further down the viaduct that same day, I found the following message in the same handwriting:

I met a lovely woman who brought me words. But I think I lost them. - graffiti on viaduct

How poetic, I thought, from someone who, I suspected, was mourning the loss (a break-up perhaps?) of a woman who had been instrumental in showing him the beauty that could be found in words. It seemed to me that he was unaware of his own talent for writing.

Perhaps the repeated public message beside phone booths along the way saying, "We listen 24 hours a day (416) 408-HELP (4357)," inspired an urgency in me and a need to write the response below:

They are right in front of you. Let go of the beauty you found in her eyes. And you will see again. - graffiti on viaduct