All of October there are campaigns running for Breast Cancer awareness month, here at Liv & B we are recognizing something dear to my heart. Teen Suicide. Earlier this year my son, Brennan lost a dear friend to teen suicide. It racked our home and left an empty spot in our hearts for Jake VanVechten and his family.
This month we are donating 10% of all sales to "The Happy Crew".
My hope is to help those in need and I want you all to hear the story from The VanVechten family:
In March of this year we lost our 15 year old son Jake to suicide. Jake was a sophomore at Valor Christian High School. He loved graphic design, was a cross country and track runner, had good grades, and very opposed to drugs and alcohol. Jake started showing depression in early January and was immediately in counseling and group therapy. Everyone thought he was showing positive effects from treatment, however in late March he died by suicide. Since the loss of our beloved Jake, we have been working with a local organization called “The Happy Crew”. The mission of The Happy Crew is to destigmatize mental health issues and increase positive options available to teens in our community.
Depression, anxiety, and suicide are major concerns facing many teens in communities throughout Colorado. The statistics are staggering! Suicide is the number one cause of death in Colorado for people aged 10-24. The suicide rate for this age group has doubled since 2006. (Colorado Health Institute). In Douglas County, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2015, 17% have considered suicide and we rank fifth in the nation for completed teen suicides.
Our goal at Happy Crew is to build a coffee house named “Kakou” in Douglas County that would be a place for teens to feel safe (Kakou – Hawaiian for “all of us” and “we are in this together.”). Kakou (rhymes with taco) would be a space for youth to collaborate with mentors trained to listen to their concerns and a comfortable place for teens to identify their passions, talents and abilities, share their voice with their peers and build a diverse and inclusive community. A community to share a message: YOU MATTER YOU BELONG.
After this devastating loss in our family, we are committed to helping solve this disastrous situation effecting families and communities across our country.
Sincerely,
Liz and Brian Van Vechten
"Happy Crew and our mission is to destigmatize mental health issues by creating community and sharing the message, “YOU MATTER, YOU BELONG”, especially among our peers. We must remain diligent in our campaign: depression, anxiety, and suicide are major issues for our friends – Colorado ranks sixth in the nation for most teen deaths by suicide. Too many of our peers face a daily struggle to talk about their mental health – we crusade to end the stigma and increase positive options for those facing mental health issues." www.thehappycrew.org
If you would like to make a donation for this cause, please go directly to the Happy Crew Website.
