Belgrade, MT – In Montana’s vast and open space, where communities are often small and far apart, isolation can take a heavy toll on a person’s mind. Artist Jim Dolan, known for his public art installations including “Bleu Horses”, is launching a unique initiative aimed at bridging that gap—The Montana Phone Booth Project.
The idea is simple yet profound: Handcrafted phone booths, painted bright red, placed across eastern Montana, each bearing messages like “Call Home” or “Keep in Touch.” These booths, while not functional as actual telephones, serve as physical reminders for people to reach out—to call a friend, check in with family, or seek help if needed.
Dolan, who has personally experienced the effects of suicide in his own family, sees the project as a way to encourage connection in communities where mental health resources are scarce. “These aren’t memorials for those we’ve lost,” he explains. “They’re for the survivors, the people still here, to remind them to make a call, to stay in touch, to not let isolation take over.”
Montana has one of the highest suicide rates in the country, particularly among rural populations. Limited access to mental health services, combined with the stigma surrounding mental illness, leaves many struggling in silence. Dolan considers the project an extension of the “Beyond the Weather” movement which seeks to eliminate stigma around rural mental health, encourage people to talk about the hard stuff, and promote all around good neighboring.
A phone booth, a seemingly outdated relic, stands as a symbol of direct human connection—something modern communication technologies like social media and texting often fail to replicate. “There’s a difference between sending a message online and actually hearing someone’s voice,” Dolan notes. “That moment of real connection can be life-changing.”
The first phone booth is set to be placed in Ringling, Montana, another in Hilger and the hope is to expand further into Eastern Montana and the Hi-Line: Farm and Ranch communities. Dolan and his team including metal sculptors Clint Lesh and Kal Hansen are looking for landowners near main county roads and highways who are willing to have the installations placed on their private land.
Thanks to a generous donor, the first 10 phone booths have been paid for and interested parties need only to reach out and share their location in order to be in the running to receive a phone booth on their land. If all 10 get claimed, Dolan says they’d happily make more. They’re looking for donations around $10,000 for each sculpture in order to continue to raise funds to support Montana’s rural mental health.
If just one person sees a booth, pauses, and decides to make a call that changes their path, or the path of someone else, Dolan believes the effort will have been worth it. In a state where the landscape is wide and isolation can feel overwhelming, a simple phone booth might just be the sign someone needs to realize they are not alone.
If you are landowner who cares deeply about rural mental health and lives near a highway or county road, please reach out to Jim Dolan, 406-570-4731, jim@jimdolanart.com or Courtney Kibblewhite, 406-698-6932, ckibblewhite@northernbroadcasting.com.
If you know someone who needs mental health support now, have them call 988 to talk to someone from their state immediately.
If you are a farmer or rancher, up to 6 free counseling sessions are currently being administered through Frontier Psychiatry by calling (406) 200-8471 in Montana and the Align team in Wyoming (307) 772-9100.
Article written by Courtney Kibblewhite
