When the colorful "LifeKeeper quilts" unfurl in May in Washington, D.C., Kathy Bruce of Fayetteville hopes that as many Fayette Countians as possible will be remembered on National Suicide Awareness Day.

Bruce's mother, Nancy Jones, is doing the quilting for Fayette's "LifeKeeper," a tangible and permanent way "to hold close and to remember those we love who took their lives," Bruce says. So far there are four squares, each with a photograph and memorial thoughts. One of them is Bruce's husband Marty, who endured years of depression and various treatments before his suicide five years ago.

Fifteen persons will fit on the quilt, Bruce says, with "one square that identifies the quilt as being from the Survivors of Suicide group here, or just identifies Fayette County, Georgia." She hopes that more survivors will contact her so that the Fayette LifeKeeper will be full-sized.

Bruce continues her work to make the community aware of ways to prevent suicide, especially for young people. Recently she presented the first of a two-part series on "The Power to Prevent Suicide" to her middle- and high-school youth group at Fayetteville First United Methodist Church. Bruce also facilitates the local Survivors of Suicide (SOS) group and plans to hold several community-wide prevention seminars for youth.

The quilt project was begun by the Suicide Prevention Advocacy Network (SPAN), a national organization for which Bruce serves as quilt chairperson and community organizer. For more information on the quilt project, SOS, or SPAN, call Bruce at 770-719-9893.

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