Marshmallow's HOPE Nonprofit Organization Corp.

If selected as a winner, I would use the Elevate Prize funding to continue to grow Marshmallow's HOPE Nonprofit Organization Corp.  My dream is to be a nationwide organization.  I would love to someday, have an activities building for our nonprofit, so that we can host activities for our youth; such as open mic nights, sock hops, mental health dinners, campouts and more! We also offer suicide survivor families financial support through their tragedy, as I remember the shock of being a single mother and not having money to cover the funeral costs; however, our organization can only offer these services if funds permit, so it would be nice to have the financial backing to be able to offer funeral assistance, and financial support, as well as a place to host memorial gatherings free of charge to families of loved ones loved to suicide.  Currently I have gone back to school so that I can become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and be able to offer free counseling services for our youth and family survivors; so if this building would be a place to offer those services in the future.      

Prior to September 16, 2018 words like "mental illness," "depression," and “suicide" were unfamiliar to me. Sure, I'd heard of the topics vaguely, but never really paid attention, until these silent killers changed my life forever when my 14 year old son Zachary Birkholz died by suicide. The heartache was unbearable, and the reality is that many people don't pay attention like myself, until it is too late. I never knew that my son was living with depression, and missed the signs. I NEVER want any other parent to hurt the way I do, so I am passionate about educating others about these silent killers to help prevent youth suicide; thus the birth of Marshmallow's HOPE.  Our organization is here to raise awareness and help break the stigma that surrounds mental illness, as well as advocate for youth 9-19 who are suffering in silence.  We have developed a one on one mentoring program called HERO mentors  (help, encourage, reach, and overcome.) Mentor volunteers are paired with youth ages 9-19 living with depression, anxiety, PTSD, suicidal ideations, or victims of abuse. Programs for our youth living with mental illness are lacking nationwide which is why Marshmallow's mission is so important.

Problem: Suicide is the second leading cause of death in the United states, for ages 10-34. An extremely sad statistic, as suicide is preventable.  Mental illness has a stigma surrounding it, which creates objections to seek treatment for their children.  There is a huge lack all over our nation for mental health services for children as they are underfunded or not enough providers.  

1 in 4 people children and adolescents report having suicidal ideations; 

Solution: To break the stigma due to lack of public awareness that surrounds mental illness  - As having lost my own teenage boy, I publicly share our story via social forums, in schools, at boys & girls clubs etc.  I also wrote a book called Lost to Darkness; Enlightened by Grace and our story has made an impact in the US, India, Spain, England, Scotland, Mexico, and Italy.  We discuss mental illness and suicide prevention.

Our organization offers one-on-one mentorship to youth 9-19 because our method has proven to help children gain a sense of hope and purpose.  Encouragement to speak up and not be afraid about their mental pain. We have teamed up with professional counselors to offer children free mental health treatment services.  

We teach people the red flag signs to look out for and how to help prevent a suicide by being alert of signs that may be leading to a suicide attempt.  

We teach kids to not take it lightly when a friend makes a post on social media, to alert someone as they can possibly be saving a life. 

We spend quality time with kids who are in emotional distress by doing fun activities such as going out to eat, playing disc golf, going bowling and getting participants to open up about their struggles.  We validate their feelings by showing them love and compassion and encouragement to undergo treatment.  We let our youth know that it is okay to not be okay and getting treatment for depression, anxiety, PTSD, trauma etc... is the best course of action.  We teach boys to open up and talk about their feelings rather than holding them in.  No one should have to suffer in silence, or alone.  We have had many kids in the community who have been living with suicidal ideations, now pay it forward, by alerting us of other kids who are struggling and being the voice for them.  

Our story is making an impact because it is a true story being told through a mother's heartache and love for her child. 

When my son Zachary passed, I began to post motivational messages on social media encouraging kids to live.  To my surprise, kids in the community found that they could relate to Zachary and began messaging me about their own personal struggles with thoughts of suicide or to tell me how they were battling depression.  Parents in the community began to reach out to ask me if I knew of someone that could help their child who was struggling.

I have partnered with Professional counselors so that we can refer kids to receive mental health treatment.  I have spent countless hours networking, building relationships, having my presence known and making people aware of our organization, my book, our story so that people become aware of our available programs.  I have also met with state officials to help implement laws; I was part of a project to raise a tax "1/2 cent for mental health" so that we can bring more mental health services to our community.  I ensure that everyone I come across knows out mission.