Tempe’s Parks, Recreation, Golf and Double Butte Cemetery Advisory Board plans to focus on possible ways to implement memorial benches around local parks and near schools that help bring awareness to suicide loss and prevention. 

This was decided during the board’s Sept. 20 meeting after guest speaker Heather Tibbet presented her idea to the board members. 

Tibbet’s goal is to have awareness benches placed throughout Tempe not only to memorialize those who have lost their lives to suicide but to also spread awareness and offer a resource to people who may be having suicidal thoughts. 

“I’m a mother who lost a daughter, my daughter Ainsley, about two years ago,” Tibbet said. “In my mission to try to keep my mental health intact, I have joined with a nonprofit called Josh’s Benches. What Josh’s Benches does is we provide awareness benches.” 

Tibbet has sponsored two benches on her own through Josh’s Benches, both of which are located in Florida. Since Tibbet’s daughter Ainsley was born and raised in Arizona, she said she’d love to begin the movement of memorial benches in her home state. 

Her reasoning for proposing to have awareness benches in Tempe specifically is the large population of college students in the area. 

“When you look at the numbers, we are able to see that the average age of suicides and suicide attempts gets younger and younger,” Tibbet said. “It would be ideal if these benches were in the presence of students who are almost always under a lot of stress.” 

Each bench has 988, the national suicide crisis hotline number, on it. They are also all bright yellow, with the intention of the color drawing more attention from passersby than a typical metal or wooden bench would. 

Tibbet said everyone who is a part of Josh’s Benches hopes that people will be inclined to not only read and sit on these benches but also feel comfortable approaching those who they may see sitting on the benches. 

“This is a really important message to get out to people, and the parks and the schools are the best place to do it,” Tibbet said. “That’s where people are and that’s where people will see these benches. It’s sad that we have to put them up, but they have been helpful and saved lives. If we can save just one life, then we have done our job.” 

Staff Liaison and Deputy Director of Community Services Alexander Jovanovic was in favor of Tibbet’s proposal.  

“We probably have a lot of benches out there that will need to be replaced at some point so this sounds like a no-brainer to me,” Jovanovic said. 

Another board member, Kara Espino, was also in support, saying she would “love to help out in any possible way” that she could.  

“I am so appreciative of the support and positive support and feedback I received,” Tibbet said. “I am really looking forward to moving forward with this.”

Karina Maccano is an Arizona State University journalism student. We would like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.