By Susan Carroll

Review Writer

Dave DeRue, owner and artist of Tattoo Nouveau, will be hosting a Project Semicolon event in conjunction with National Suicide Prevention Day on Sept. 10.

Project Semicolon is an American mental health non-profit organization that primarily functions as an anti-suicide initiative. According to the movement, Project Semicolon brings hope and love to those who struggle with depression, suicide thoughts, addiction and self-injury.

According to recent statistics, an estimated 800,000 people die by suicide each year and up to 25 times as many will make a suicide attempt.

The organization is known for encouraging people to tattoo the semicolon punctuation mark onto their bodies as a form of solidarity with people dealing with mental illness or the death of someone from suicide.

“The biggest thing for us (Tattoo Nouveau) is we’re trying to raise awareness about it (suicide prevention),” said DeRue. “We plan on setting up cameras to have a live feed broadcast.”

On Sunday, four of their artists will be at the shop from noon – 9 p.m. tattooing the semicolons.

There will be several tattoos to choose from and pricing starts at $30.

No appointments will be taken. The tattoos will be placed on a first come, first served basis. Clients will be tattooed in the order that they arrive.

Tattoo Nouveau is located at 18 N. Broadway in downtown Lake Orion.

They can be reached at 248-690-7140 or found on facebook by typing Tattoo Nouveau in the search bar.