Widow creates stickers for Reversing Falls Bridge to discourage suicide

A Saint John woman is placing suicide prevention stickers on the railings of the Reversing Falls Bridge to try to stop people from taking their lives the way her husband did. 

Jaclyn McColgan's husband, Brad McColgan, jumped off the Saint John bridge in April after suffering with depression for most of his life. 

Brad had been admitted to hospital in January because of a suicide attempt, but McColgan said he was taking all the right steps to improve his mental health.

He started attending group therapy and even joined a bowling league.  

"He was doing all the things to get out there and try to work on his mental wellness," McColgan said. "And then he was gone.

"I didn't think that this would be our life."

McColgan said Brad had struggled with depression since he was about 10 years old. She said he sometimes had suicidal thoughts, about getting into a car crash or not waking up. 

"It was never really anything that he suggested as something that he could do to himself."

But in April, Brad jumped off the Reversing Falls Bridge.

"He called me moments before and I had a feeling," she said. "He was gone within minutes."

The day after he died, McColgan planned a comedy night at Chuckles Comedy Club in Saint John for Sept. 21 to raise money for the Canadian Mental Health Association.

This summer, Saint John city council asked the province to revisit installing suicide barriers on the bridge.

McColgan, tired of waiting for the city to act, reached out to a friend about making suicide prevention stickers to paste on the bridge. She found some phrases for the stickers online and wrote some of her own.

"I took some actually from some kind words that were written about Brad about depression tricking you into believing lies about yourself."

In addition to a short message, the stickers also refer people to Saint John Mobile Mental Health, 1-888-811-3664, Canada Suicide Prevention Services, 1-833-456-4566, and 911. 

McColgan has about 40 suicide prevention stickers. She's began placing the stickers on and around the bridge, but she's also planning to put them in other places, such as community bulletin boards. 

She said she wants to make sure that what happened to her and her sons' father doesn't happen to other families. She wants people considering suicide to notice the stickers, pause and recognize someone cares about them. She also hopes the stickers spark a conversation about suicide and mental illnesses. 

"It's something that I don't think people really understand how often it happens."