After Suicides, 45 Hamptons Shops Go Yellow To Fight Depression

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — Southampton businesses joined hands and hearts for a Week of Hope to raise awareness about depression and mental health.

The Week of Hope launched at Jennifer Miller Jewelry on July 26 in Southampton Village, led by Southampton Village Mayor Michael Irving and Hope for Depression Research Foundation's founder Audrey Gruss.

More than 45 local business owners including Michael Kors, Collette’s Basement, CVS, and the Southampton Chamber of Commerce placed two-foot wide yellow statement balloons by their front doors to symbolize hope and their commitment to raising depression and mental health awareness, a release for the event said.

The initiative comes in the wake of the suicides of Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade, as well as local Sag Harbor resident and publicist Jeanine Pepler, organizers said. "Each shocking loss is a reminder that the suicide rate is rising in the U.S. and that depression is a national health epidemic," the release added.

The Week of Hope is created by Southampton resident Audrey Gruss’ Hope for Depression Research Foundation, a leading non-profit dedicated to fighting depression through research and education.

The Week for Hope is supported by Irving as well as residents including Lisa Aery, Nona Murphy Collin, Arthur Dunnam, Christine Mack, Jay McInerney, Anne and Jacques Nordeman, and Alicia Owen.

“We are proud to participate in the Week of Hope to spark life-saving conversation about mental health,” said Southampton Chamber of Commerce head Karen Connolly. “The yellow balloon represents hope and commitment to changing the staggering statistics that every 12 minutes a person dies by suicide in the U.S.”

On August 5, the final day of the Week of Hope, Gruss and Irving will lead a Walk of Hope and 5K Run around Lake Agawam at 9 a.m. Participants will participate from all over the tri-state area and beyond to unite as a community and raise awareness in the fight to defeat depression; 100 percent of proceeds from the Walk will fund research into the root causes of depression in the brain and new and better treatments.

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Week of Hope participating business owners include: Bean2Tween, Breezin' Up, Catena's Inc. Food Market, Collette's Basement, Collette’s Luxury Consignment, Cantena’s Market, The Corcoran Real Estate, Corwin's Main Street Jewelers, Ltd., CVS, Eric Messin Jewelry, Fowler’s Garden Center, Flying Point Surf Boutique, Hamptons Tax, Herrick Hardware, Hildreth's Home Goods, HSBC Bank, Jildor Store, Katherine Tess Southampton, Kevin Maple Salon, Michael Kors, Peter Millar, Ralph Lauren, Shari’s Place, Silver’s Restaurant, Southampton Chamber of Commerce, SouthThrifty, Stevensons, Therapy Life & Style, UBS Financial, Topiaire Flower Shop, Fowler's Garden Center, Native Son Tobacco, and Shinnecock True Value Hardware.

The Week of Hope balloons are similar to beach balls in that they are inflated with air, rather than filled with helium, and they are fully anchored to their stands. Each of the 45 balloons will be responsibly removed by the Hope for Depression Research Foundation team on August 5, organizers said. The balloons and the stands were created with the intent of being used multiple times before being responsibly recycled.

HDRF, organizers said, is today the leading depression research organization in the United States; the Foundation is named after Gruss’ mother, Hope, who struggled with the illness for most of her adult life.

The mission of HDRF is to fund cutting-edge, neuroscience research into the origins, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of depression and other related mood disorders. Gruss founded HDRF to accelerate depression research because, she said, in the U.S. alone, more than 20 million people have major depressive disorder, but more than over 50 percent of those diagnosed do not respond to existing medications.

In the United States, depression affects more than 20 million adults each year, or one in 10 adults statistics reveal. Depression is the leading cause of suicide — in the United States, a person dies by suicide every 12 minutes, more than 41,000 people per year, Gruss said.

Patch courtesy photo.