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The Missing Word introduces ollipsent
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As gun violence becomes the leading cause of death for American youth, The Missing Word introduces “ollipsent” giving grieving parents a name, and their grief recognition
In English, there is a word for someone who loses a spouse: widow. There is a word for someone who loses their parents: orphan. Until now, there has been no word for a parent who loses a child. Today, that changes.
Agency FCB Health New York, in partnership with the nonprofits Visioning Beyond Violence and Youth Alive!, has launched The Missing Word, introducing a new word to recognize one of the most devastating, and increasingly common, human experiences.
That word is ollipsent (oh-LIP-sint): a parent who has lost a child.
The word was developed with linguist Chelsea Frazier and revealed first to parents whose children were killed by gun violence, the leading cause of death among children and teens in the United States.
Credits
View on- Agency FCB Health/New York
- Production Company Famous Who
- Director Jean Paulo Lasmar
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Credits
View on- Agency FCB Health/New York
- Production Company Famous Who
- Director Jean Paulo Lasmar
- Chief Creative Officer Kathleen Nanda
- Creative Director Erico Braga
- Executive Creative Director Fabio Rodrigues
- Executive Creative Director Daniel Mailliard
- Creative Director Lisa Kim
- Creative Director Roberto Vilhena
- Associate Creative Director Haley Dix
- Associate Creative Director Prajakta More
- Producer Tim Frazier
- Executive Producer Galileo Giglio
- Production Designer Kendra Bradanini
- DP Bryan Mendoza
- Editor Jean Paulo Lasmar
- Colorist Daniel Mendes / Colorist
- Music Henrique Tanji
- Producer Luisa Hackett
- Music Supervisor Luisa Hackett
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Credits
powered by- Agency FCB Health/New York
- Production Company Famous Who
- Director Jean Paulo Lasmar
- Chief Creative Officer Kathleen Nanda
- Creative Director Erico Braga
- Executive Creative Director Fabio Rodrigues
- Executive Creative Director Daniel Mailliard
- Creative Director Lisa Kim
- Creative Director Roberto Vilhena
- Associate Creative Director Haley Dix
- Associate Creative Director Prajakta More
- Producer Tim Frazier
- Executive Producer Galileo Giglio
- Production Designer Kendra Bradanini
- DP Bryan Mendoza
- Editor Jean Paulo Lasmar
- Colorist Daniel Mendes / Colorist
- Music Henrique Tanji
- Producer Luisa Hackett
- Music Supervisor Luisa Hackett
Every day in America:
- 7 young people are killed by gun violence
- 2,526 youth die each year
Yet until now, the parents left behind had no word to describe who they are. “Without a word, grief can feel invisible,” said Frazier. “Naming something gives it recognition. It tells people: you exist. Your loss exists.”
Ollipsent is derived from the Greek word ellipēs. From this root word comes the English word: ellipsis (…) three dots signifying something left unsaid or missing. The “o” in the word symbolises the ongoing cycle of love and loss. The “ent” anchors the word in identity because this word belongs to parents. For parents, the impact was immediate.
“I am an ollipsent,” said Marilyn Washington-Harris, whose son was killed by gun violence. “Now we have a name. Now people can see us.”
Congresswoman Lucy McBath, who lost her 17-year-old son Jordan to gun violence, described the experience: “This kind of grief lives in your body. Parents move forward because they have to, but we never fully heal.”
The Missing Word was created not only to acknowledge grief, but to make it visible. Because recognition is the first step toward healing. And toward change. By introducing ollipsent into public language and culture, the project aims to give grieving parents a way to identify themselves, find one another, and ensure their children, and their stories, are never erased. Because when something has a name, it can no longer be ignored.
