ERVING — In recognition of the long-awaited installation of safety barriers at the French King Bridge, town and state officials, first responders and affected families gathered for an emotional reception at the French King Restaurant on Thursday morning.

After years of advocacy from town officials, legislators and suicide prevention advocates, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) announced in February 2021 that the project to install 9-foot-tall barriers at the bridge, which has garnered a reputation as a destination for suicides, was finally moving ahead. The safety barrier installation was completed in early August.

Town Planner Mariah Kurtz, the first of five speakers, expressed gratitude for a new chapter of a place that has historically been “sought out” by those “in the depths of their worst days.”

“Now, we enter a new iteration of the bridge, one that is safer,” Kurtz said. “The new era doesn’t erase the one before it, but in time, we’ll find out how the addition of safety barriers along the French King Bridge can assist in healing us as individuals, as families and as a community.”

State Rep. Susannah Whipps, I-Athol, thanked MassDOT for their care in undertaking the project, legislators for their support within state government, and officials in both Gill and Erving for their unwavering advocacy. She then stressed that while such projects are important safety measures, they do not remediate the core issue.

“Putting barriers on every bridge is not the answer,” she said. “Removing the stigma of mental illness, recognizing signs when somebody’s struggling and making sure we have the resources to treat mental illness is the only way to truly address suicide, as well as self-harm.”

State Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, expressed that the barrier installation was a long time coming, having been a key point of advocacy for her since she took office in 2019. She thanked Oxford resident Stacey Hamel, a primary advocate for the project whose stepson, Bryan Hamel, is suspected to have jumped from the French King Bridge in 2018, for being a pivotal voice in making the project a reality. There was “a confluence that happened” when Hamel “came forward and told the human story,” Comerford said.

“It was time. Stacey called us to it, the towns called us to it, first responders called us to it, and you answered that call, and I’m very grateful,” Comerford directed toward MassDOT. “Government works sometimes, friends.”

Erving Selectboard member Jim Loynd similarly thanked Hamel for being “the point of the spear that finally got this done.” The former Erving police officer, who received a letter of commendation in November 2020 for successfully saving someone at the bridge who had apparently been preparing to jump, teared up as he spoke about the significance of the barriers. Listening to Loynd speak, other town officials grew teary-eyed as well.

“Eternal gratitude can’t be expressed enough,” he said, addressing everyone who helped the project come to fruition. “Thank you so much for making this day a reality.”

Hamel rounded out Thursday’s reception by sharing mixed feelings.

“It still feels weird to be sort of celebrating and being happy here today, but I know how necessary it is to mark this occasion,” she said.

She then thanked “every single person here who has been involved in putting these barriers up over the years.”

“From the time that we lost [Bryan], to the days that we spent on the river looking for him, to the day that I made that first call to [Gill Town Administrator] Ray Purington, my family has been treated with nothing but kindness and respect from everyone I’ve been in contact with,” she said. “For the past four years, I’ve almost felt like an honorary member of western Mass., and especially Erving. I’ve laughed and I’ve cried with many of you and I’m glad to call you friends.”

Hamel voiced hopes that the end to this project also marks an end to the sort of suffering she and her loved ones have had to bear.

“My prayer,” she said, “is that no other family goes through what we have and that my friends here are no longer called to that bridge because somebody’s life is in jeopardy, or worse.”

Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-930-4231 or jmendoza@recorder.com.