Bethel Park trio works to raise mental health awareness

Three Bethel Park High School students know firsthand the pressures their classmates face and the toll it can take on mental health.
In response, seniors Jackson Friday and Max Lemessurier, along with sophomore Lily Yester, have formed a suicide prevention club.
The club stems from the efforts of a Next Gen Board of High School Students created at the Spencer Family YMCA in Bethel Park. One of its members, recent Upper St. Club graduate Ben Seminov, was touched by a youth hockey player suicide, leading to the efforts of the Bethel Park students.
“We’re trying to get the word out about mental awareness, mental health in young athletes,” Friday said. “We’re just trying to get the word out and build on that. The statistics we’ve seen are pretty bad with young athletes. It takes a toll on them with their academics and athletics and everything else that goes with it.”
According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the third leading cause of death among student athletes ages 15 to 24, trailing only accidents and homicide.
A study authored by researchers from the University of Washington, The University of Wisconsin at Madison and Oregon Health and Science University said suicide rates among college athletes have doubled during the last two decades, making it the second most common cause of death among collegiate athletes behind accidents.
Friday, Lemessurier and Yester are involved in athletics at Bethel Park and, as the only three members of the group, would like to see their membership numbers grow. Friday, 17, is a member of the football and soccer teams; Lemessurier, 17, is on the football, soccer and lacrosse teams, and Yester, 15, runs cross country and track.
“There are a lot of pressures on kids when they’re young and athletic,” Yester said. “All those pressures can build. Athletics shouldn’t take over your life at such a young age … If you need a break from things, you can take a break to take care of your mental health. We’re all athletes, so we know the pressures of sports and continuing with sports after high school. We just want to make sure everyone knows mental health comes first.”
The three said their support is not limited to student athletes but is available to any student who may be experiencing mental health issues.
“We don’t want to look at it from an athlete, sports-centered standpoint,” Friday said. “These athletes also take on many other extracurriculars. They’re in AP classes. They’re in college honors classes. They’re doing a lot after school. They also could have family problems that they’re dealing with.”
Dr. Mandy Cohen, CDC director, visited the Spencer Family YMCA in August as part of a nationwide back to school tour. She was impressed by what she heard about the suicide prevention club.
“She gave us some tips on what we need to do moving forward and how we can make our project better,” Lemessurier said.
The students have produced a flier they hope will eventually be posted at every YMCA in the Pittsburgh area. It includes a QR code for phone numbers for suicide prevention or mental health awareness. If someone feeling the pressure comes to one of the students, they will refer that person to a professional who can help.
“It’s really important to not keep things bottled up,” Lemessurier said. “People feel like they’re going to get judged, but you’re really not. It’s always good to find help. Nobody should feel terrible about themselves or have any of those thoughts.”
Anyone who is interested in joining can contact any of the three club members. The group tries to meet monthly.
September is Suicide Prevention Month, a time used to shift public perception, spread hope and share information. The mission of the National Alliance on Mental Illness is to ensure all who needs it have access to the resources to discuss suicide prevention and seek help.
Friday said the group hoped to discuss possible initiatives to take, such as having a speaker talk at the YMCA.
“We just want to make sure people have a place to go to,” he said. “We want to make it our main focus to get as much out as we can and drive this forward. We just want people to have smiles on their face at the end of the day.”
Friday said he is in a prime spot to be helpful, as he is in the midst collegiate recruiting.
“It’s stressful going on all of these visits, talking to all of these coaches,” he said. “You have to make a decision and that decision can be stressful and lead to thoughts.”
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