Blue Bee Project

About Blue Bee Project

The Blue Bee Project was created in honor of our 15-year-old son, Nathan Lee Montez Jr., whom we lost to suicide on January 26, 2024. Nathan was loved, joyful, and had dreams for the future.  His life was beautiful and meaningful. But beneath his smile, he was struggling in ways we could not see.

Suicide is deceptive and doesn’t always look the way we expect it to.  Behind every statistic is a face like Nathan’s a beautiful, loved, and irreplaceable person. This is why the Blue Bee Project exists: to help others recognize hidden struggles and to remind those who are hurting that they are not alone.

The name Blue Bee Project comes from Nathan’s love of bees and his favorite color, blue. Our logo, a blue bee shaped like a semicolon, carries special meaning for us. A semicolon is used when an author continues a sentence instead of ending it. In the same way, it has become a symbol of persevering through pain and struggle. The bee represents the power of community support, highlighting that no one is meant to carry life’s challenges alone.

For us, the Blue Bee Project also honors our family, friends, and even strangers whose compassion and support helped carry us through our darkest days after Nathan’s passing.

While many organizations do incredible work raising awareness around suicide and mental health, the Blue Bee Project is personal. No one else can tell Nathan’s story, and his life is at the heart of everything we do. If sharing his story helps even one person feel seen, less alone, or encouraged to reach out, then this work matters.