Depressed, using alcohol and drugs, and recently jobless, Mark Gonsalves decided to end his life by suicide. Amazingly, he survived a 220-foot jump from a bridge and went on to become an inspiration to others dealing with mental-health and addiction issues. 

<p class="m_-4184098340392530461gmail-MsoNormalCxSpFirst">Depressed, using alcohol and drugs, and recently jobless, Mark Gonsalves decided to end his life by suicide. Amazingly, he survived a 220-foot jump from a bridge and went on to become an inspiration to others dealing with mental-health and addiction issues.</p>
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A collection of interviews,  press conferences and news actualities from the Newsroom of the Providence Journal, Providence, Rhode Island.

News interviews and actualities from  The Providence Journal

From the Newsroom: The Providence Journal

The moon had set, leaving only stars above as Friday, June 26, 2015, began. Dawn was nearing when Mark Gonsalves, 44, left his apartment near the Newport end of the Pell Bridge and got into his car. Leaning on the gas, he sped onto the span.
 
He stopped at the apex, some 220 feet above the water.
 
It was 4:36 a.m.
 
To the south, Newport Harbor twinkled; north, Narragansett Bay stretched in darkness toward Providence. The air was about 66 degrees but there was no wind. Summer had arrived, a tad cool but nonetheless welcome in a year that had dawned with a historic blizzard.
 
Gonsalves stepped from his car and went to the north-side railing.
 
It is about 3 feet high, easy to scale.
 
Were he to jump, his body would rapidly accelerate, reaching about 81 miles per hour when he hit the surface in a journey lasting just over three seconds. He would cause a splash, but the sight and sound of it would be lost in the night.
 
Gonsalves jumped.
 
Finally free, he thought.

Redemption: The fall and rise of Mark Gonsalves

A collection of interviews,  press conferences and news actualities from the Newsroom of the Providence Journal.

Redemption: The Fall and Rise of Mark Gonsalves

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From the Newsroom: The Providence Journal

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