MANCHESTER, N.H.- It may have been the day before April vacation, but for many of the city’s middle and high school students Friday, mental health was at the forefront of everyone’s mind. Local students were invited to the Palace Theatre for a conversation with The Ohio State football coach and Manchester alumni Ryan and Nina Day. The event was held in partnership with Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Kids Mental Health Foundation.
Several notable local dignitaries were also on hand including Congressman Chris Pappas, Mayor Jay Ruais, Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Chmiel and members of the Board of School Committee and Board of Mayor and Aldermen.
The Days created the Kids Mental Health Foundation eight years ago after Ryan went on a recruiting trip to a high school in Ohio and discovered the school was closed following the deaths of multiple students to suicide. The experience hit close to home for Ryan, who lost his dad to suicide when he was just eight years old.
“I didn’t have the vocabulary for it. I didn’t have the playbook for it. I didn’t know where to put the confusion, I didn’t know where to put the anger. I just knew that my dad was gone and he wasn’t going to come back.”
Weeks after that recruiting trip, the Days teamed up with Nationwide Children’s Hospital to create the Kids Mental Health Foundation. For him, finding a way to turn the heaviness into fuel and motivation was key.
“The reality is, all of us are going to face adversity somewhere in our lives. It’s part of life that’s unavoidable. Life can and will literally take us to our knees at times, the question is whether or not we’re prepared when it does.”
“We’ve met too many people carrying too much alone, and we’ve also seen what happens when the conversation finally opens up,” says Nina Day. “The relief, the comfort, the realization that I’m not the only one, because isolation is dangerous.”
Today, the foundation works to provide curriculum-based toolkits to schools across the country, which provides resources and tips for starting tough conversations that could end up saving lives.
Students also had an opportunity to ask questions of the Days, inquiring about everything from ways to deal with mental health at home to how to balance school and sports at the same time to advice Ryan gives his players before they hit the gridiron.
The event ties in with the District’s ongoing mental health efforts to build resilience and reduce stigma.
“We were excited when the Kids Mental Health Foundation and Nationwide Children’s Hospital reached out and asked if we’d be interested in having Ryan Day speak to our students about mental health,” says Stacy Champey, Executive Director for Safe & Supportive Schools. “Their approach aligns with what we’re doing with the M-Power campaign across the District.”
M-Power messaging helps connect students across the District with school and community resources for emotional wellbeing and school safety. It’s designed to promote youth mental health, reduce stigma and encourage students to reach out and connect with services. All four of the District’s high schools have licensed mental health clinicians located in the schools to help increase access to mental health support with parent/guardian consent.
"Resilience isn't just surviving the hard things," says Coach Day, "it's becoming someone who refuses to quit."