Published Sep 11, 2025Last updated 1 hour ago7 minute readPeter and Sharon Stewart sit on one of the two Heart to Heart benches that were unveiled at NSCC Burridge Campus on Sept. 10, which was Suicide Prevention Day. The Stewarts lost their daughter Jocelyn to suicide in August 2018. She was 18. TINA COMEAUArticle contentPeter and Sharon Stewart sit on one of the yellow benches at the NSCC Burridge campus in Yarmouth. Unintentionally, there’s enough room between them for someone else to sit.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentAnd even though you can’t see her, she’s there. Her presence is felt.Article contentArticle contentThe Heart to Heart benches were unveiled on Sept. 10, which was Suicide Prevention Day. The Stewarts lost their daughter Jocelyn to suicide in August 2018. She was 18 years old.Article contentArticle contentThe parents devote much of their time to suicide and mental health awareness, whether it’s through the effort of a foundation they created – the Jocelyn Stewart Foundation – or through simple conversations or gestures.Article contentThe unveiling of the benches is a seemingly simple gesture. The Stewarts hope they have a large and meaningful impact.Article content Sharon and Peter Stewart unveil the two Heart to Heart benches at NSCC Burridge Campus in Yarmouth. TINA COMEAUArticle contentCHANGING THE NARRATIVEArticle contentYarmouth MLA Nick Hilton emceed the event. He noted this year’s Suicide Prevention Day theme was ‘Changing the Narrative on Suicide,’ saying, “It reminds us that suicide is not only a personal tragedy, but also a major public health challenge. Each of those lives lost leaves a lasting impact on families, friends, workplaces, and communities.”Article contentHilton said changing the narrative calls on society to challenge harmful myths, reduce stigma, and foster open, compassionate conversations about suicide.Article contentArticle content“It is about moving from silence and misunderstanding to openness, empathy, and support. Creating communities where people feel safe to speak, speak up and seek help,” Hilton said. “It also means driving systematic change, making mental health and suicide prevention a priority in public policy, and ensuring that evidence-based care and support are available to everyone who needs it.”Article content Yarmouth MLA Nick Hilton emceed the event and also spoke of the importance of suicide awareness and supports. TINA COMEAUArticle contentArticle contentHilton knew Jocelyn Stewart through their love for curling.Article content“She was a kind, loving person, and had a smile that could brighten any room. Jocelyn loved animals, especially her rescue puppy, Amani, whose name in Swahili means peace,” he said. “Jocelyn also carried the heavy burden of mental health illness. She struggled for a long time to find the resources and support she needed.”Article content‘THAT SMILE CAME OUT’Article contentNicole Albright also spoke. She is the warden of the Municipality of Argyle, but more importantly, she said, she was Jocelyn’s Grade 5 teacher. She described Jocelyn walking into her classroom, quiet and shy.Article contentHer big, beautiful smile was yet to come.Article content Nicole Albright was Jocelyn Stewart’s Grade 5 teacher. She spoke fondly of her former student as her parents Peter and Sharon and others looked on. TINA COMEAUArticle content“When she first came in my class, it was a reserved smile. She was always waiting to make sure that somebody accepted her. When she knew that with me, as her teacher, that we were kindred spirits, the smile came out,” Albright said.Article content“She was the kid who always drew me pictures. She would paint me pictures and make me cards. She was the kid who knew when I wasn’t having a good day, when the class was difficult. She had the empathy to send me a card to say, sorry we were bad today, and I hope you have a better day.”Article contentAlbright remembers hearing the news of Jocelyn’s death. It was one of those ‘time stood still’ moments.Article content“I was shocked, because the Jocelyn I had in Grade 5 was that happy-go-lucky kid. What broke my heart was to know that from the time she left my room, to the time she took her own life, there were so many challenges for her,” said Albright.Article contentArticle content“I hope that (these benches) become a visual reminder for people to reach out for help, to have the conversation. Reach out every single time you have to, not just once, not just twice, because we want to make sure that you remain here with us,” said Albright.Article content Jocelyn Stewart with her rescue dog Amani. The Yarmouth teenager died by suicide in August 2018 at the age of 18. CONTRIBUTEDArticle contentTOOLS FOR AWARENESSArticle contentCraig Collins, the principal of NSCC Burridge Campus, is appreciative of the presence of the benches. He said NSCC has programs focused on wellness and helping those in crisis. Students and faculty from the Mental Health Recovery and Promotion and Social Services programs were at the event.Article content“My hope is with the installation of the Heart to Heart benches, we will encourage conversations around wellbeing,” he said. “This is an opportunity to begin removing the stigma, as it relates to this topic. We want people to know it’s okay to talk about your emotions.”Article contentHe said NSCC faculty see the benches as a valuable learning and awareness tool.Article contentArticle content“Each January, we observe wellness week. This is a time when all campuses take time to highlight mental wellness through campus learning and activities, often led by our programs. I hope this coming January, we’ll be able to use the Heart to Heart benches as a gathering place to continue our learning.”Article content Michaela LeBlanc performed a song called Quiet during the event. TINA COMEAUArticle contentAt the event Michaela LeBlanc performed a song, saying she hoped it speaks to those moments when life feels heavy or overwhelming.Article content“The song I am about to sing is called Quiet, but honestly, my mind hasn’t always felt very quiet. There have been times when my thoughts just wouldn’t stop. When they felt endless, heavy and overwhelming,” she said.Article content“Fears, doubts, and hard memories kept racing through my head, and I felt like there was no way to catch a break,” she said, hoping to instill in people that even small steps, like talking honestly about what you’re feeling, can make a difference. “I hope this song encourages anyone listening to take a breath, pause, and remember that even in the hard moments, you are seen, you are heard, and you are not alone.”Article contentTOO MUCH LOSSArticle contentYarmouth Town Councillor Wade Cleveland spoke of his friendship with Peter and Sharon Stewart and their unfathomable loss.Article content Wade Cleveland said he hopes the benches that were unveiled bring calm, peace and support to those who are struggling. TINA COMEAUArticle content“I think about all of those who are suffering the same kinds of losses,” he said, saying about 12 people a day in Canada die by suicide, according to Public Health Canada.Article contentIncidentally, in 2024, Nova Scotia recorded 159 suicide deaths – its highest annual number on record.Article content“Those are people who have reached a point in their lives where they felt so alone that there was nothing else for them,” Cleveland said.Article content“In the aftermath of that are the ripples of pain that are sent through immediate family, through communities. It’s a horrible thing, and the losses, we just can’t allow them to add up. We need so much more support. We need more acknowledgement that these situations exist,” Cleveland said, thinking of his Jocelyn Stewart Foundation t-shirt that says: Life is messy.Article contentArticle content“It is messy for all of us. It’s hard. It’s confusing at times. But it also is glorious, and inspiring and unbelievably beautiful at times,” he said. “My wish for these benches, these Heart to Heart benches, is that they serve three basic purposes.”Article contentOne, he said, is that their existence is a reminder of the losses and pain in our communities. Second is that they are a place for more than one person to sit, talk, and feel like they’re not alone.Article content“But also, for me at least, … may they be a spot for someone to sit quietly … This is a wonderful place to sit quietly and just breathe. To feel the life inside you and the beauty that’s there. That’s my wish.”Article content Members of the Jocelyn Stewart Foundation and others who took part the Sept. 10 bench unveiling at NSCC Burridge Campus on Sept. 10, which was Suicide Prevention Day. TINA COMEAUArticle contentArticle content People gather around the Heart to Heart benches after they were unveiled at NSCC Burridge in Yarmouth. The benches are aimed at raising awareness over suicide, and also to provide support to those struggling. TINA COMEAUArticle contentSPECIAL SUPPORT FOR OTHERSArticle contentJocelyn Stewart died 17 days after her 18th birthday. Her family says she was kind, sensitive and wonderful. Sometimes she told ‘dad jokes’ like her father. She cared deeply about people and animals.Article contentArticle contentBut she also experienced years of mental health struggles. Her parents say signs of her mental health deterioration began to show when she was around 12 and grew as she got older.Article contentFollowing her death, her parents started the Jocelyn Stewart Foundation with the goal of helping people who struggle with mental health and/or feel at risk of suicide or have suicidal ideation. A long-term dream is to set up a small options home, which they’d call ‘A Peace of Home,’ where people could receive counselling and support, with a temporary residential option available.Article content Peter Stewart stands alongside one of the benches after they unveiled on Sept. 10. TINA COMEAUArticle contentJocelyn’s parents have shared how years ago they often had to travel outside of their community – spending hours of driving time – to access supports that Jocelyn needed, making a difficult situation even harder. Supports need to be closer to where people live.Article contentHer family hopes the benches will be places of peace, comfort and support for others. A place, her dad says, to sit, read, talk and listen.Article content“When someone sits on one of those benches, it may be their way of reaching out. I need somebody to talk to, or just somebody to listen to me. Because Jocelyn needed that, and she didn’t have it,” Peter Stewart said.Article contentHe noted suicide rates amongst children and youth have risen at an alarming rate over the past 15 years.Article content Peter and Sharon Stewart sit on one of the two Heart to Heart benches that were unveiled at NSCC Burridge Campus on Sept. 10, which was Suicide Prevention Day. The Stewarts lost their daughter Jocelyn to suicide in August 2018. She was 18. TINA COMEAUArticle contentJocelyn herself would often ask her parents to take her somewhere where she couldn’t hurt herself.Article content“She didn’t want to die. She wanted to live. And there are so many times in her life that you can see that exuberance – her want to live. To live freely, live an amazing life, happy. But unfortunately, the mental health issues that she had in her last few years hindered that,” her dad says.Article content“Jocelyn was special to us. I’m hoping that these benches will be special to anyone who needs that help, who needs to reach out, because that’s what they’re here for.”Article contentArticle content A message of support on the Heart to Heart benches at NSCC Burridge Campus in Yarmouth for those who are struggling. A reminder that they are not alone. TINA COMEAUArticle contentArticle content An event was held at NCSS Burridge Campus on Sept. 10, which is Suicide Prevention Day. TINA COMEAUArticle contentArticle content An event was held at NCSS Burridge Campus on Sept. 10, which is Suicide Prevention Day. TINA COMEAUArticle contentArticle content People gather around the Heart to Heart benches after they were unveiled at NSCC Burridge in Yarmouth. The benches are aimed at raising awareness over suicide, and also to provide support to those struggling. TINA COMEAUArticle content Sharon Stewart looks on smiling as her husband Peter Stewart shares a loving memory of their daughter Jocelyn, who died by suicide at the age of 18. On Sept. 10 the Jocelyn Stewart Foundation unveiled two Heart to Heart benches at NSCC Burridge in support of others who are struggling. TINA COMEAUArticle contentArticle content Contact information of where people can reach out for help is included on the benches. TINA COMEAUArticle contentArticle contentArticle contentArticle contentArticle contentArticle contentArticle content
In memory of Jocelyn, in support of others: Heart to Heart benches unveiled in Yarmouth as part of suicide awareness
