Suicide survivor speaking on April 9-10 at Cuyahoga Community College
CLEVELAND (March 31, 2026) – Life wasn’t worth living for Kevin Hines anymore. He had been diagnosed at age 19 with a bipolar disorder, and no one would help him. He had decided to end it all by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge in the fall of 2000.
Miraculously, he survived. The experience transformed him into an ardent advocate for mental health wellness.
Cuyahoga Community College and it’s HELP IS HERE program are bringing Hines to Cleveland to speak before students and the general public on Thursday, April 9 and Friday, April 10. There’s no charge, but to attend you’ll need to obtain a free ticket through EventBrite, linked just below.
Dates, times and locations are:
Thursday April 9, 11 am at Eastern Campus
Thursday April 9, 7 pm at Western Campus
Friday, April 10, 11 am at Metro Campus
Friday, April 10, 3:30 pm at Westshore Campus
All events are free to attend, but please register at www.tri-c.edu/kevinhines to help the college plan ample seating.
“What’s remarkable about Kevin is that he kept asking people to help him, even as he headed for the Golden Gate Bridge, but no one would stop their activities to assist him,” says Professor David Nardecchia, assistant professor of counseling. “One of his key themes is the importance of people identifying signs of suicidal ideation and planning, and giving that person help and hope.”
Hines is also the author of “The Art of Being Broken: How Storytelling Saves Lives” and the movie “Suicide: The Ripple Effect,” both dealing with mental health and suicide. He gives talks around the world advocating for normalizing conversations about mental health and wellness, as well as key factors that support recovery from mental health problems.
Hines encourages everyone to actively check-in on people who seem to be struggling. Having been there himself, he explains that, “…people are so unwell mentally that it’s hard to reach out. I argue that brain pain or mental pain is 300 times worse than any physical pain but, people don’t recognize it because they can’t see it.”
“I’ve learned that no matter the amount of pain you’re in, sucide is never the solution to your problems,” Hines adds.
HELP IS HERE is Cuyahoga Community College’s multiple award-winning array of mental health resources and services designed to assist in these areas:
— Know the signs
— Stop the stigma
— Have a conversation
— It’s OK to ask for help.
Here is the link to HELP IS HERE: www.tri-c.edu/helpishere
Some of the material for this story comes from this feature on the U.S. Coast Guard web page:
Keisha Reynolds, “Lessons from jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge—survivor shares his story to help others,” September 2022,
Here are some past eyeoncleveland.com stories about HELP IS HERE at Cuyahoga Community College:
https://eyeoncleveland.com/category/help-is-here/
There’s no charge, but to attend you’ll need to obtain a free ticket through EventBrite here:
Instead, maybe say “the event is free to attend, but please register at www.tri-c.edu/kevinhines to help us plan ample seating.”
3. Update to: HELP IS HERE is Cuyahoga Community College’s multiple award-winning array of mental wellness and suicide prevention resources and services.
4. Update the website: Here’s the link to HELP IS HERE: www.tri-c.edu/helpishere
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