Kevin Hines regretted jumping off San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge the moment his hands released the rail and he plunged the equivalent of 25 stories into the Pacific Ocean, breaking his back.

Hines miraculously survived his suicide attempt at age 19 in September 2000 as he struggled with bipolar disorder, one of about 40 people who survived after jumping off the bridge.

Hines, his father, and a group of parents who lost their children to suicide at the bridge relentlessly advocated for a solution for two decades, meeting resistance from people who did not want to alter the iconic landmark with its sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay.

On Wednesday, they finally got their wish when officials announced that crews have installed stainless-steel nets on both sides of the 1.7-mile (2.7-kilometer) bridge.

“Had the net been there, I would have been stopped by the police and gotten the help I needed immediately and never broken my back, never shattered three vertebrae, and never been on this path I was on,” said Hines, now a suicide prevention advocate. “I’m so grateful that a small group of like-minded people never gave up on something so important.”

Nearly 2,000 people have plunged to their deaths since the bridge opened in 1937.

City officials approved the project more than a decade ago, and in 2018 work began on the 20-foot-wide (6-meter-wide) stainless steel mesh nets. But the efforts to complete them were repeatedly delayed until now.

The nets — placed 20 feet (6 meters) down from the bridge’s deck — are not visible from cars crossing the bridge. But pedestrians standing by the rails can see them. They were built with marine-grade stainless steel that can withstand the harsh environment that includes salt water, fog and strong winds that often envelop the striking orange structure at the mouth of the San Francisco Bay.

    • @[email protected]
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      4411 months ago

      Why not both haha. But yes I agree. 2k people killing themselves off this since it’s open is insane

      • @[email protected]
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        11 months ago

        This says 4000 people died by suicide in California in one year. 2k people over almost 100 years isn’t crazy. These nets won’t make a dent in the yearly total.

        • @[email protected]
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          1311 months ago

          The question is how many of those suicides were conducted by jumping off the bridge. And don’t say “they’d just choose another way to end themselves”. Studies and historical evidence shows that making suicide even slightly less convenient to perform actually does save lives. People get fixated on a method that seems easy. When that method is no longer easy, it gives them a chance to not go through with it.

          • @[email protected]
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            11 months ago

            Oh, for sure! I meant to counter the statement that 2k in a 100 years was an insane amount. 4k in one year is insane.

      • @[email protected]
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        11 months ago

        eh, but making this net prolly just makes them kill themselves in other (perhaps more harmful) places, like off train platforms and using guns

        • @[email protected]
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          411 months ago

          Oh no this is definitely true. I still would like to advocate for mental health services and better access for sure

      • @chitak166
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        611 months ago

        Yeah, all the mental health care in the world doesn’t mean jack shit when you’re living paycheck to paycheck your entire life.

        Mental health care professionals and their shills will of course say otherwise, though.

        It’s always about the money.

        • @Mango
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          411 months ago

          All the mental healthcare in the world doesn’t make the world a more acceptable living space.

      • lapes
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        211 months ago

        “What colour do you want your dragon?”

        • @[email protected]
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          111 months ago

          Rofl, make it a very hungry one please (that’s s colour, right?).

          Actually, make it like an eco terrorist type of thing, just attaching random shit that is causing loss is various habitats & ecosystems around the world. That would be pretty cool, like gleefully look at the news ‘Let’s see what the unstoppable Dragonzilla destroyed balanced or rescued today.’

    • @InternetCitizen2
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      11 months ago

      What about door kicking and room clearing during homeroom?

      /s

    • Cyber Yuki
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      211 months ago

      Also reminds me there’s a thing called “social safety net” (that each year becomes smaller and smaller)