By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The Netflix series "13 Reasons Why" helped push the topic of suicide to the national forefront. But not in the way many health officials may have liked. That, in part, is how the #Zero Reasons Why campaign was started. For a second year, Hoisington High School yellowed-out its gymnasium for Friday's basketball games against Pratt. Business Instructor Jennifer Steinert said the campaign is meant to eliminate the stigma of talking about mental health issues.
"Talking about it is okay," she said. "Back in my day we didn't talk about it, and it's still something we don't really talk about. That's why we're doing the work we're doing."
The Center for Counseling brought the campaign to the area. Zero Reasons Why is now utilized by 10 area schools, as well as many others around the state and nation. Steinert has already seen growth at Hoisington in just the program's second year.
"We have around 50 students involved right now, which is great," she said. "We've seen a lot of growth from last year to this year, with it being new last year. We've had a lot of freshmen sign on. We had gone and talked to the middle school last year, and they said that made a big impact with them."
Beyond the yellow-out at Friday's basketball game, the event provided information about the campaign and mental health. Attendees filled out cards with positive messages that were shared around the Activity Center, and Hoisington athletes, band members, and the cheer and dance squads all wore yellow. It's all to show that no one suffers from mental health issues alone.
"It's kind of surprising to see how many people actually do struggle with mental health," said HHS senior Sydney Strong. "Learning about suicide awareness, I think it's good it's getting out there now."