A student organization from Buchholz is helping to raise awareness of mental health and suicide prevention

Editor’s note: Please note that this story includes mention of suicide and its impact on a community. If you or someone you know is suicidal, you can call the national suicide hotline at 800-273-8255.

Ryan Howell was a artist.

He learned to play every melody on his guitar, regardless of the genre, and shared his music on his Facebook page “Shred of the Day”. His drawings were on display at the Thomas Center in Gainesville, and he was voted “Most Artistic Senior” by his colleagues at Gainesville High School. He dual enrolled at Santa Fe College to take additional arts classes to develop his aptitude.

He was a free spirit. With the spinning wheels of his long board beneath him, Howell’s long brown hair whipped and twisted in the wind. He wore bright colors and tropical prints.

Ryan Howell loved art, music, and photography. (Courtesy photo by Teresa Howell)

At his funeral, his family urged guests to do the same: wear a tropical shirt and khaki shorts.

Howell died of suicide in 2017 at the age of 22.

Although his death was a tragedy for his parents and two sisters, they used their moment of darkness to spark a change in the discussion about mental health. They created the Ryan Howell Memorial Scholarship, a direct donation to Perspectives Integrated Treatment and Sober Living, an Ocala-based addiction treatment program. Four years later, the scholarship is still supporting the program and allowing the institution to expand its services and locations.

Inspired by the scholarship, the Gainesville students worked to raise awareness about mental health in memory of Howell.

Howell’s sister Ellyn, now 20, and her friends, who are members of the Distributive Education Club of America (DECA) at the Buchholz High School Entrepreneurship Academy, decided to remember Howell in a way that reflects the light he is brought a color into the world.

In 2018, she planned the first March4Minds Color Run 5K to support Howell’s scholarship. Not only will the event support the community housing facility where Ryan found a support system, but it will also enable a conversation about mental health and suicide prevention resources.

Break the silence about mental health

Teresa Howell, Ryan’s mother, said her son struggled with schizophrenia and addiction for almost two years. She hopes that heightened awareness will inspire others to seek help sooner.

“That’s our real message: the sooner you get help and treatment, the better,” she said. “The earliest intervention we can possibly do is the one we direct our efforts on.”

After the first 5K event, she received Facebook messages from families facing similar issues and letters from Perspectives clients saying the help they got thanks to the scholarship saved their lives.

“Maybe this project will help someone out of such a sad, tragic situation,” Howell said.

When Ryan was diagnosed with schizophrenia fighting addiction at the age of 21, he was considered “twice diagnosed”. His family traveled across the country in 2016 to seek treatment in Texas, Georgia, and Tennessee. The options for someone with a dual diagnosis were slim – and expensive.

They found help in Gainesville later that year; Perspectives Integrated Treatment and Sober Living was ready to care for a Ryan as one of their first patients with a double diagnosis.

Steve Blank, Operations Director at Perspectives, said that mental health problems and addiction are often intertwined. Although Perspectives focuses on drug recovery, psychiatrists and licensed mental health professionals are on staff to support the underlying or resulting mental health problems of addiction.

Blank said Ryan moved to a sober house, an independent community where individuals typically stay for six months and are guided by recreational coaches. Guests in the homes can enter work and continue to live in perspectives.

Blank said the scholarship contributions will be used to sponsor individuals and fulfill Perspectives’ goal of not turning anyone down due to lack of funding. The money can also be used to fund leisure activities or weekend trips.

Perspectives continues to expand its services, including a new outpatient facility to open in Gainesville. While treating people with double diagnoses is not the program’s specialty, Blank aims to provide treatment resources to as many people as possible.

“Staying positive is hard because all we hear is not always optimistic and pink clouds and unicorns,” he said. “So it’s important to inspire hope, and it’s really important to remember that for some of us these people may once have been us or a family member.”

Running to recovery. And the hurdles of 2020.

With the COVID-19 pandemic onset in 2020, the color run wasn’t a safe option, and Howell said she thought it might mean the next class of DECA students would choose a different purpose in support. But Ellie Jones, Dillon Menefee and Sophia Butler decided to give community members one more chance to cross the finish line.

On November 13th, DECA hosted the third March4Minds Color Run 5K at Trinity Methodist Church.

Between the GoFundMe page and the $ 20 entry fee, this year’s color run raised nearly $ 12,000. As in 2019, the Perspectives program doubled donations, raising students over $ 18,000, nearly $ 15,000 more than the first race in 2018.

The Howell family is participating in the third March4Minds color run. “It’s just very heartwarming to see all of these young people and their hard work,” said Teresa Howell. (Courtesy photo by Teresa Howell)

Jones, 17, said she has known the Howell family since childhood. She remembers seeing them at Christmas Eve Mass in Trinity Church, huddled in a pew. After Ryan’s death, her family brought meals to the Howell’s front door, and she competed in the 2018 March4Minds race.

Now Jones is Senior at Buchholz, serving as DECA’s Vice President of Hospitality, and has teamed up with Menefee and Butler to continue the tradition – and make it bigger than ever. Almost 100 runners and 20 volunteers came together on the morning of November 13th after almost four months of planning and working with sponsors.

“None of this ever felt like a burden,” said Jones. “We were all very passionate about it and one of our goals was to get more participants than ever before just because we know how much it means for the whole family.”

She added that the passion of the younger students leads them to believe that Buchholz DECA will continue to support the scholarship even after they graduate this spring, and she hopes her fellow students have positive conversations about mental health.

“I think people want to help, but they just don’t know exactly how,” she says. “This event and all that awareness, I think it was a really great way for people to learn how to get involved on a small scale, and it can mean a lot.”

Butler, the president of Buchholz DECA, said the event helped her see how the community – and you as an individual – can make a difference, even when it starts out small. The 17-year-old said having a chat with Howell and her fellow DECA leaders after the race was her favorite moment while planning the event. Howell told the three students that the day was one of the best she had had in a long time.

A drawing by Ryan Howell shows a picturesque street view. (Courtesy photo by Teresa Howell)

Promote the conversation about teenagers and mental health.

Like Jones, Butler thinks serious mental health conversations should start early.

“I think young adults and teenagers are definitely turned away a lot when they talk about their own mental health,” she said. “There needs to be more space to talk about it. People shouldn’t be ashamed. “

Whether the run continues or not, Ryan’s legacy prevails. Howell recalls the time when her daughter Ellyn went to Bagel Bakery, one of Ryan’s favorite eateries, to ask for a donation for the race.

“Do you remember my brother?” she pleaded with the baker. “His name was Ryan.”

“Oh my god, I know Ryan,” replied one staff member. “What do you need? We will do everything.”

A compassionate and communicative community can make a difference in the life of someone who is struggling, Howell said.

“It takes people who reach out to people, whether it’s the children reaching other children, reaching their families, or reaching the teachers,” she said. “These children cannot expect to know whether it is a phase or a full blown mental illness; They do not know. They just know that they are in a difficult place at a difficult time. “

If you or a loved one is struggling with mental health problems or thoughts of suicide, please call the national suicide hotline at 800-273-8255 or visit https://nami.org/Home for resource information.

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