A personal reminder.
A way to mark a difficult chapter, honor someone who matters, or keep a message of hope close.
Our impact
A small symbol.
A shared language.
Project Semicolon helped bring a deeply personal message into public view: your story isn’t over.
People carried it from screen to skin, into their communities, and into conversations about mental health, hope, and loss.
A message people made their own
Shared online.
Carried into life.
The semicolon gave people a simple way to express something that can be difficult to put into words: a reason to continue, a person to remember, or solidarity with someone else.
Sharing a photograph or a personal story became a way to take part. Project Semicolon helped make mental health advocacy something people could carry into everyday online life.
The movement’s reach is a collective achievement.
The invitation began in 2013
Amy Bleuel’s idea.
A community’s continuation.
Amy founded Project Semicolon in 2013. The people who adopted the message gave it a place in their own lives and helped it travel further.
Explore the story behind the movementThe meaning is personal
One symbol.
Many reasons to carry it.
People bring their own experiences to the semicolon. Its meaning can be held privately, shared openly, and carried in different ways.
A shared understanding.
A small sign that can help people recognize an experience, open a conversation, or express solidarity.
A way to participate.
A starting point for sharing a story, supporting someone, or bringing mental health into everyday life.
The work continues
Turning recognition
into a next step.
A familiar symbol can create an opening. Our work is to make that opening useful—with information, reflection, and ways to connect.
Explore our programsUnderstand
Find language for what’s happening.
Explore mental health information and questions that may feel familiar.
Explore mental health topics ReflectMake room for your own experience.
Use Semicolon Journey to reflect on what you’re noticing and consider possible next steps.
Explore Semicolon Journey ConnectFind people and shared experiences.
Discover groups and ways to connect with the wider Project Semicolon community.
Discover groupsA shared achievement
Carried by people.
Continued together.
Every person who shares a story, starts a conversation, or makes room for someone else helps carry the message.
This work sits alongside the care offered by families, peers, educators, advocates, and mental health professionals. We’re grateful to be part of that wider effort.
Read community stories
Keeping the story clear
Reach, meaning,
and what comes next.
Cultural reach, personal experiences, and program activity tell different parts of this story. We aim to be clear about what each figure or account describes.
About the figures and sources on this page
The tattoo estimate
The figure of one million people comes from Amy Bleuel’s estimate in a July 14, 2015 interview with ABC News. It describes the movement’s estimated reach at that time, rather than a verified current count.
Read the ABC News interviewThe movement’s beginnings
Project Semicolon began in 2013. Our history page describes Amy’s founding idea and the movement’s development.
Read our historyInterpreting impact
Stories describe individual experiences. Reach describes how widely a message travels. Program activity describes use of a resource. These are distinct from evidence of changes in someone’s health.
The significance of a personal story deserves care, wherever it sits in the larger picture.
The next part is shared, too
Help write
what comes next.
There are many ways to help the message become a moment of understanding, connection, or care in someone else’s life.
Your experience belongs in the conversation. Share your story