College Voices
Ohio Resident Makes a Difference and Promotes Suicide Prevention by Cleaning Up Hateful Graffiti
A short five months after surviving an attempt to take his own life, Dennis Bonifas has begun living out his new mission in life. He is now promoting suicide prevention by cleaning hateful and racist graffiti from streets and walls all over his local community in Toledo.
“I’ve grown a lot since then and now it’s time for me to help give back, and this is just one of the ways that I can do it,” Bonifas said.
Bonifas has dedicated his spare time to help give back, while bravely living with the constant struggle of having bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. He owns his own business called B & D Powerwash and Paint Services and uses his own equipment to clean up graffiti for free.
“To the person who spray painted hateful Swasticas [sic] on the road at 5-2 and j. Grow up let go of hate it’s 2019 and we don’t have time for any of that. Lucky for you I have a power washer mounted in a trailer and the message you were sending goes against my moral compass so I decided I would remove them for you. Hope your day gets better,” Bonifas wrote on his Facebook page.
Though Bonifas has put a lot of time and effort into cleaning up vandalized sites, he describes the work as therapeutic.
“[It’s] very rewarding to be able to do something and then put a smile on my face and it actually helps my mood a lot,” Bonifas said.
Bonifas is an inspiration to everyone as he is advocating for a life full of human kindness. He is proving to the world that there is beauty in life, even after feeling like there is no reason to continue living.
Bonifas is making a difference in peoples’ perspectives on life, and urges others to find a way to show their own human kindness. Just one act of kindness really can save a life.
If you or someone you know needs help or support, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling: 1-800-273-8255.