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Gridiron stars helping to prevent suicides

BY TYLER BUDGE

West Valley View Staff Writer

High School football players across Arizona are working with Teen Lifeline and the Grand Canyon State Gridiron Club to produce a series of PSAs during Teen Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.

This month, 15 players from 12 schools star in public service announcements that are designed to provide a unified message to teens who may be struggling with depression, anxiety, and thoughts of suicide.

Desert Edge High School football player Adryan Lara was one of the athletes who volunteered.

“I feel like now, especially in this new generation, a bunch of stuff is go-

ing on and some kids are not able to handle it. They need someone to help them through these times that they’re going through,” Lara said. Teen Lifeline is an Arizona-based nonprofit with a focus on giving teens a safe space to talk about their depression and anxiety. Lifeline Clinical Director Nikki Kontz hopes these videos will have a significant impact on the students who watch them. “Our high school football players are seen as the heroes or seen as the people that bad things don’t happen to,” Kontz said. “The fact is they’re struggling with the same things that every other kid is, and this is a way for them to bring awareness to everyone.” Teen Lifeline received nearly 35,000

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Desert Edge High School football player Adryan Lara was one of 15 players to volunteer to participate in a series of PSAs during Teen Suicide Prevention Awareness Month in partnership with Arizona nonprofit Teen Lifeline. (Photo courtesy of Adryan Lara)

calls and texts to its suicide prevention hotline in 2020, with the majority coming from Arizona adolescents ages 10 to 19.

“One of my biggest goals in life is just to help people and let them know that there’s always somebody you can lean on. And if it’s not me, there’s someone else, and I just want people to know that,” Lara said.

The public service announcements will air throughout September on the participating school’s social media channels and during morning announcements on campus.

“Collaborations with organizations like Grand Canyon State Gridiron Club and high school athletes are critical in spreading the message that there is hope and help available to teens who need it,” said Michelle Moorhead, Teen Lifeline executive director, in a statement.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the 30-year-old Teen Lifeline has received the most number of calls and texts from teens.

“We can see it (awareness) even on

Gridiron...continued on page 21

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The city of Buckeye is giving away a pair of AirPods during its Fitness in the Park fall pro-

gram. (Photo courtesy of the city of Buckeye)

Get fi t this fall and win with Fitness in the Park

BY WEST VALLEY VIEW STAFF

Fitness in the Park returns to Sundance Park with a free eightweek workout program beginning 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 20.

Join certifi ed instructors for yoga on Mondays and zumba on Tuesdays. Advanced registration is required and limited. To register, visit https://bit. ly/36HNlfh.

To help get residents motivated, they will also have a chance to win a set of AirPods, valued at $160. They should enter their name every time they work out with Fitness in the Park. The winning for the AirPods will be pulled at the end of the eight-week session.

Sundance Park is located at 22865 W. Lower Buckeye Road. For more information about the program, visit buckeyeaz.gov/fi tnessinthepark or call 623-349-6350.

Gridiron...continued from page 20

the national and international stage, the things that have occurred in these last four months with Olympians like Simone Biles talking about the importance of mental health,” Kontz said.

Participating players will be recognized during their games in September. Members of the cheer team and spirit squads will wear custom Lifeline ribbons in their hair, and coaches will sport green suicide prevention shirts.

“It has been an amazing partnership every year. To see the numbers that we’re getting on social media and how many people it’s reaching within each of the schools has been something special,” Kontz said.

The 263 Arizona middle and high schools have printed the Teen Lifeline phone number on the back of their student IDs. For more information, visit TeenLifeline.org. For help, call or text Teen Lifeline at 602-248-TEEN (8336) or 1-800-248-TEEN.

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