BRUNSWICK — Shannon Denbow has been touched by suicide twice in her life — first as a little girl when her father took his own life and more recently when her son did the same in January.
Denbow now wants to do something to potentially prev ent future suicides on the Sidney Lanier Bridge. A recent incident in which a man took his own life was a catalyst for what she hopes will be a positive change.
The Nahunta resident — who frequently drives over the bridge, the highest and longest in the state — has started a petition on Change.org that has 975 signatures.
“Losing my father and son to suicide is a pain I carry every day,” she wrote in the online petition. “Our family has been shattered by these tragedies, and I am sharing this story with a heavy heart in hopes of preventing other families from ex-periencing similar heartbreak.”
Brunswick Police Department numbers show there have been three confirmed suicides from the bridge since January 1, 2023, two of which occurred in the past two months.
There was also the case in May when two bodies were discovered on the small island around one of the pilings of the bridge.
There were five such instances in 2023 in which people allegedly intended to take their own lives, Brunswick police numbers show. Police are required to respond to attempted suicide reports on the bridge.
But installing suicide prevention measures may not be so simple.
State Rep. Rick Townsend, R-St. Simons Island, whose district includes the Brunswick side of the bridge, has asked the Georgia Department of Transportation to figure out if the engineering of the bridge will allow suicide prevention barriers.
“First we have to figure out if it is something we can do,” Townsend said. “It’s a state bridge so I’m looking into if there is something we can do after it has been there for 20 years.”
If there are ways to retrofit the bridge with suicide prevention measures, Townsend said the next step would be to figure out how to fund it.
“I would be interested in supporting that if there is something we can do,” Townsend said.
The Georgia DOT has already taken some suicide prevention steps at the bridge, said Jill Nagel, the DOT’s public relations representative for Southeast Georgia.
“Signs featuring the suicide prevention messaging and hotline number have been installed midway up the bridge and at the top in each direction on the bridge,” Nagel said. “Additionally, large postmounted signs with suicide prevention messages have been placed at the base of the bridge on both ends.”
Denbow believes more can and should be done to save lives. She said a bridge in Maine, where she is from originally, recently was outfitted with suicide prevention measures and she believes the same can be done on the Sidney Lanier Bridge.
She also contacted the State of California, which has impemented safety precautions.
“There are multiple references to use,” Denbow said. “The Golden Gate Bridge installed a net. The data is out there. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel.”
She cites statistics in her petition that installing suicide prevention barriers resulted in a 91% percent reduction in suicides over a decade.
“By signing this petition, you can help us urge the Glynn County officials, the Georgia Department of Transportation, and stakeholders to prioritize mental health and safety by implementing suicide prevention barriers,” she wrote in her petition.
The petition can be found on Change.org at https://chng.it/n9PGWNnTGQ or by searching Sidney Lanier Bridge on the website.
A search also brings up a similar petition started in 2017 that has nearly 3,000 signatures.
