NORTH KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It's OK not to feel OK — that's the message high school students and parents want to spread across the metro.
Christian Taylor, a senior at Rockhurst High School, lost two of his classmates because of suicide.
"These had been smiling faces that I had in class the day before and something that I really didn't ever expect," Taylor said.
It moved him to organize a suicide-prevention fundraiser that garnered $50,000. More than two dozen student representatives from 15 metro high schools attended the first "All Hands in KC” event at Chicken N Pickle Sunday night.
"It's OK not to feel OK sometimes,” Taylor said. “It's part of being human. You have your ups and downs, but you gotta push through it, and you have to find help.”
Megan Rupp lost her son, Harrison, also a Rockhurst high student, two years ago when he took his own life. She has made her mission talk about teen suicide, anxiety and depression.
"If there something going on at home, if they noticed they have friend problems just to really be open and talk to them," Megan Rupp said. "They need us more than they did when they were little because it's a tough time."
In addition to raising awareness about teen suicide, organizers unveiled an app called Ripple Notes.
"It allows you to track your pay-it-forward kindness on an app," Mimi Taylor, founder of Ripple Notes, said.
The app is free to download. Printed Ripple Notes cards were available free at the event, but packs of 10 can be purchased through the app or its website, ripplenotesapp.com.
The money raised on Sunday will go toward three suicide-prevention organizations: Speak Up, Zero Reasons Why and The Harrison Rupp Memorial Fund, in care of Rockhurst High School.
If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, you are not alone help is available at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255. You also can chat with someone online at: suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat.
