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Courtesy Chelsea Van Thof

Courtesy Chelsea Van Thof ( 1 /3)

The Taft Bridge along Connecticut Avenue Northwest has been the site of multiple suicides. D.C.’s Department of Transportation has now installed temporary pedestrian fencing on the bridge, as part of a project to increase safety and prevent suicide attempts.

Chelsea Van Thof’s partner, Peter Tripp, died by suicide on the Taft Bridge in 2022. The veterinarians were living in Woodley Park at the time.

“He was gentle and kind,” she said. “He was just always looking to help others.”

Van Thof said she used advocacy as a coping mechanism while she grieved. She poured herself into efforts to get protective barriers installed on the bridge and believes the barriers would have saved Tripp’s life.

“For me, it was like, if I

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