By CHRISTINA EASTER, eyeoncleveland.com contributor 

APRIL 7, 2026 — Kevin Hines has written five books on and became a mental health advocate after attempting suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge at the age of 19.  

Hines and his brother grew up poor and lived in crack houses as their parents struggled with having no income by drinking alcohol and using drugs. His brother died from a vicious strain of bronchitis after they were placed in the foster care system and bounced around different homes. 

At the age of four, Hines was adopted by Debra and Patrick Hines. At age 17, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder type one, the same condition his parents dealt with.  

Hines will be visiting Cuyahoga Community College to share his experience with others who are experiencing or have experienced mental health challenges. His talks will be on Thursday and Friday (April 9-10). See below for details and where you can obtain Free Tickets to attend.

“My hope, wish and prayer is that anyone who’s ever experienced any type of mental or emotional pain will come and hear my words,” said Hines. 

(EDITOR’S NOTE: You can hear all of Christina Easter’s interview with Kevin Hines here:

“I want people to hear a message of hope and realize how valuable and beautiful they are and suicide is not the answer to a problem, it is the problem and they are meant to be here into the natural.”  

SEE AND HEAR KEVIN HINES IN CLEVELAND

Kevin is speaking at Cuyahoga Community College’s Eastern Campus on Thursday (April 9) at 11 am, and at the Western Campus at 9 pm. He’ll be at the Metro Campus on Friday (April 10) at 11 am, and at the Westshore Campus on Friday at 3:30 pm. You can point your phone to the QR code below for free tickets (space is very limited at some locations) through EventBrite, or copy and paste the link below.

https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/kevin-hines-suicide-prevention-beheretomorrow-4819185

Life Before Adoption 

Hines was born in San Francisco into poverty with his brother. They lived in and out of crack houses as their parents struggled with manic depression by doing drugs and alcohol as they coped with no income.  

Kevin and his brother were taken from their birth parents when Hines was four months and his brother was 14 months old. They bounced from home to home after being placed in the foster care system. In one home, they both contracted a viscous strain of bronchitis and his brother died right next to him. Hines was then placed in another household where he was selected for adoption by Debra and Patrick Hines. They were looking for a little girl, but Debra said she fell in love when she saw Hines.     

“They took me in and worked to adopt me which was very difficult because I am a mixed race,” said Hines. “My birth parents fought for me but my mother gave up after my father accosted an undercover police officer and was killed.” 

“To their credit, they made me their son and essentially saved my life.” 

Life After Adoption 

After the adoption, Hines thought now that he had a beautiful home and passed the trauma. He frequently thought to himself that he had it made in the shade and it was going to be smooth sailing from there. But at age 17, Hines felt as if his brain had broken. 

“I had a complete mental breakdown and began to be very paranoid, hallucinatory and delusional,” said Hines. “I began to have maniac episodes and crashing depression which led me at age 19 to leap off the Golden Gate Bridge to attempt suicide. 

But by the grace of God I survived.” 

Hines recalls being in the water and praying to God that he would not die. Witnesses went to get the Coast Guard and his life was saved. 

GROOVE WITH PORTIA HERE

Portia Booker, one of America’s top podcasters, featured Kevin Hines in a podcast last week. You can watch it here:

Living with Bipolar Disorder 

Hines was diagnosed with bipolar disorder type one which has psychotic features. This causes him to hallucinate and see and hear things that no one else does. He also has paranoia delusions which causes him to believe that people are out to get and try to kill him. He also experiences panic attacks. His idealations of suicide began right before he jumped.  

But Hines has learned a lot about his condition since his attempted suicide.  

“Put together a toolkit,” said Hines. “This includes doing breathing exercises to defeat, calm or quell things. I also know that it’s not life endangering and I don’t need to go to the hospital. 

I just need to bring down my heart rate and stall the chemical reaction in my body.” 

Effect of Attempt Suicide on Himself, Family and Friends 

Although Hines now has a plan, it wasn’t easy after his Golden Gate Bridge episode. Between 2000 and 2019, was checked into a psychiatric hospital 10 times for suicidal crisis. The first three stays were involuntary and the last seven have been voluntary. 

“I walked in and said ‘I need to be here or I won’t be here,’” said Hines. “I saved my own life because I had become self-aware of my diagnosis and symptoms and was able to manage them because of my toolkit.” 

With each day, Hines is appreciative of the people around him including his wife, Margaret and adopted father, Patrick. He said had he not survived his suicide attempt he would not have met his wife or witnessed and help raise his god-children. 

“Margaret saw through my mental pain and married me anyway,” said Hines. “Patrick supported me throughout my entire speaking career and life along with the rest of my family and friends.”  

Hines’s Life Now: Helping Others  

Today, Hines sees life through a very different lens and is grateful for every waking moment. He believes that media of all kinds is the fastest way to reach anyone. Hines has written five books on suicide prevention and brain and mental health, including a children’s book. He has  produced and directed several documentaries and one narrative film.  

“I’ve gotten to live 26 years past the day most said I should have died and appreciate every day,” said Hines. 

“No matter how painful my brain gets and no matter how many times I think suicide, I appreciate to the tenth degree that I get to exist. 

Hines believes that he survived the suicide attempt to be a conduit to others. He says, Tri-C’s Help is Here program is a campus wide commitment to mental health awareness, suicide prevention and connecting students, faculty and staff to real resources in real time. 

During his visit, Hines will talk to others about how much value their life has even when their mind is telling them it does not. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Freelance journalist Christina Easter of Cleveland works with Signal Cleveland as a Documenter, attending and covering public meetings. She is also is a contributor to The Land. Christina is a former student of Professor Kerezy, and still taking classes at Cuyahoga Community College and contributing to The Voice, the student media outlet there.

Here is a link to one of her previous eyeoncleveland.com stories:
https://eyeoncleveland.com/2025/02/10/how-hih-is-making-a-difference-for-tri-c-students-and-others/