LONE TREE, Colo. – This Thursday, the City of Lone Tree Youth Commission is hosting It’s Not Nothing, an event bringing awareness to the impacts of mental health on youth. The event will provide a raw look at mental health through a series of speakers and a resource fair where families can ask questions.
“If we can destigmatize the conversation and go to each other and make it more of a normal thing and not this big scary thing going on, I think that will alleviate it a little bit,” said Ava Taylor, a junior at Highlands Ranch High School and co-chair of the Lone Tree Youth Commission.”
“What really is depression? What is anxiety? What is stress and what do I do if I have these things? How do I talk about it? Who do I talk to? These questions come up every single day, in high school, even middle school, even elementary school and kids struggle,” added classmate Noelle Harff, who is also a chair on the Commission.
Speakers at the event include:
- Maria Bales, a mental health activist and mother of Nick Bales, a local teen who lost his life to suicide last year
- Denny Ying, an ultra-athlete who has been riding his bike around the world to raise awareness for mental health issues after fighting his own battles
- Alex Bush, a teen who lost her father to suicide
- Sarah Davidon, a psychologist from Mental Health Colorado
Tickets are $5 for students and $7 for general admission, available for purchase at the Lone Tree Arts Center box office or online at lonetreeartscenter.org. Family four-packs are available for $20. A portion of the proceeds will go to benefit Mental Health Colorado.
