988/END THE STIGMAS is an interactive artist's book created by John Schlimm, and published by the Cameron/Elk Suicide Prevention Task Force. 988 is the national suicide and crisis lifeline. The 26-page, small 5"x8" artist's book has two goals. Its first mission is to raise awareness of the 988 national suicide and crisis lifeline through both colorful and creative images of the number and related activity pages that can be utilized by all ages. And the second purpose of the artist's book is to inspire readers to help reduce the stigmas around mental health. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Please call or text 988. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: John Schlimm is a nationally-recognized mental health advocate, Harvard-trained educator, an accomplished visual and conceptual artist, and the international award-winning author of more than two-dozen books spanning multiple genres. In 2014, John created THE SMILE THAT CHANGED THE WORLD (is yours) as a multimedia, Participatory and Interactive project at the intersection of art, mental health, and community service. In 2024, John launched a spin-off project titled THE BRAIN THAT CHANGED THE WORLD (is yours) . He has travelled the country for book tours; art installations; national TV appearances such as The Ellen DeGeneres Show , Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live , and Hallmark Channel’s Home & Family ; and far-ranging discussions about mental health with both experts and consumers of all ages. John has mostly focused his efforts on mental health awareness, community service, and young people, especially Gen-Zers, including one of his newest books What Would Gen-Z Do?: Everything You Don’t Know About Gen-Z But Should and The Gen-Z Time Capsule that he created in collaboration with The Andy Warhol Museum and Gen-Zers from across the country and beyond. With the release of his first children's book The Star Jumped Over the Moon and his Performance Art piece The Kids are Cool! , John's work also began to actively engage Generation Alpha, whom he refers to as The Imagination Generation. Inspired by his decade-long THE SMILE THAT CHANGED THE WORLD (is yours) project, in 2023, John collaborated with the St. Marys Area High School’s Dutch Manufacturing students and the Community Education Center of Elk & Cameron Counties to create 4,000 powdered metal SMILE COINS. The year-long project—which was at the intersection of STEAM, mental health awareness, and community service—culminated with THE SMILE COIN Tour, which consisted of 15 assemblies across 4 schools over 4 days during which more than 1,800 students received 2 coins: a SMILE to keep and a SMILE to give away. In 2024, for another multimedia project—also at the intersection of STEAM, mental health awareness, and community service—John collaborated with the students at Clearfield County Career & Technology Center High School and Workforce Solutions for North Central PA. Titled THE BRAIN THAT CHANGED THE WORLD (is yours) , John worked with the students to create thousands of posters, backpack tags, stickers, brain-shaped cookies, a photo essay, and an award-winning short documentary that were shared across the Clearfield County School District during Mental Health Awareness Month. For more information about John and his projects, please visit www.JohnSchlimm.com. Cameron/Elk Suicide Prevention Task Force is a grassroots advocacy group that is active in Cameron County and Elk County in Pennsylvania.