Third graders at Franklin Community High School wanted to use their painting stones to send a message of hope to those struggling with mental health.
Submitted photo
As a basketball and football varsity player at Franklin Community High School, he seemed to be on top of the world.
But last year he stopped playing.
It’s not that Chase Stanger wasn’t good enough. He was dealing with an opponent far more daunting than anything he had seen under the lights. The other person had depression.
“It was tough managing sports and school while dealing with this. People didn’t understand why I quit,” Stanger said.
Stanger is not someone who superficially exhibits typical symptoms of depression. He led his high school’s student division, the Blue Crew, to the Zone 8 banner and won a competition in the Central Indiana student division put together by WISH-TV’s sports his anchor Anthony Calhoun. His unbridled enthusiasm included skydiving and hosting theme nights where students dressed up in construction outfits and fired confetti guns at football games.
“The main thing people don’t understand is that it can happen to anyone. Whoever you are close to may be the most smiling and sociable person, but what is that person suffering from?” I don’t know if it will,” says Stanger. “Suicide rates are rising because people are afraid to seek help.”
All seniors at Franklin Community High School are required to complete a senior project that meets graduation pathway requirements, including work-based learning experiences such as internships, or service-based learning experiences such as community service projects.
With the help of friends and family, Stanger is now over the worst part of his depression. In a senior project at his base of service he completed in a community service class, Stanger wants to remind other people struggling with mental health issues that they’re not alone.
With the help of friends and family, Stanger wrote about 100 letters with messages such as “There is Hope,” “Your Life Matters,” “You’re Enough,” and “Brighter Days Await.” 200 types of stones were drawn and distributed. They placed the rocks at Walmart and Target, placed them outside Greenwood and Whiteland High Schools, and distributed them in Franklin’s hallways during the fall semester. The message “Please call 988” is also displayed.
Scanning the QR code on the rock with your smartphone will take you to a variety of mental health resource websites such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Headspace, BetterHelp, Psycom and Psych Central.
It is especially important for men to receive support, Stanger said. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, men account for his 80% of suicides, despite her making up 49% of the population.
“Men are four times more likely to commit suicide because they are stigmatized as unmanly when they show weakness. A whole attitude of ‘you have to absorb it,'” he said. “The biggest thing I wanted to convey is that just because you’re struggling doesn’t mean you’re not normal.”
Noah DeArmitt, a representative of Franklin’s baseball team, was one of Stanger’s friends who helped distribute the stones. I decided to.
“I wanted to play college baseball my whole life, so I was going to college and doing well. Through my mental health struggles, I decided not to,” DeArmit said. “It was a big decision for me.”
In a tweet, despite his talent, self-doubt crept into his mind, resulting in a decline in not only his mental health but his physical health as well.
“I started thinking I wasn’t good enough and it all went wrong. I stopped caring for my body, started struggling in school and felt like everything was going wrong. “I know I’m not alone in this fight. I’m grateful for all the wonderful people around me who have helped me.”
Stanger said DeArmit understood what he was going through and helped him when he was suffering the most.
“He accepted what I was going through and helped me understand that I wasn’t alone,” Stanger said. I knew he was there to help me, so I wanted to make sure the people there had someone to help them too.
How to get help
visit tracking stangers Website: https://bit.ly/3WyuhHc
Haall 988 To arrival of Whole country suicide prevention life line
