The Kyle Hyland Foundation Raises Suicide Prevention Awareness

BENICIA — Oct 11, 2021 – The Kyle Hyland Foundation (KHF) for Teen Support hosted the KHF Memorial Walk for Suicide Prevention and Resource Fair on September 25 at the Benicia Teen Center. This was a community event designed to raise awareness regarding suicide prevention.
The event was very well attended with approximately 100 people from the community participating. The event began with a resource fair at the Benicia Teen Center with the following organizations participating: Solano County Behavioral Health, Solano County Office of Education and Solano Pride. Teal and purple balloons were provided for participants to attach messages to loved ones and messages of hope regarding suicide prevention. After walking to Ninth Street park, the event continued with a short ceremony including speeches by Barbara Gervase, President and Executive Director of the Kyle Hyland Foundation for Teen Support and Erin Rucker, mother of Gabe Trimboli, the 13 year old, eighth grader who took his life in December 2020 and to which to walk was dedicated. The Kyle Hyland Foundation was honored to have Assemblymember Tim Grayson attend and speak at the event regarding the recent announcement of $5 million in State funding procured by Assemblymember Grayson and granted to the Kyle Hyland Foundation. The KHF was happy to have Benicia Unified School District officials in attendance including: Superintendent Dr. Charles Young, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Leslie Beatson, and Benicia Unified School Board President Sheri Zada and Trustee Gethsemane Moss. In addition, government officials in attendance included District Supervisor Monica Brown, Benicia City Mayor Steve Young and Councilmember Christina Strawbridge.
The event continued with a balloon release followed by a walk back to the Benicia Teen Center for light refreshments. Proceeds from the event will benefit Benicia Middle School’s Sources of Strength which is a peer-led suicide prevention program.
The KHF would like to sincerely thank the community for supporting this event and the efforts of the Kyle Hyland Foundation to uplift our youth.
About the Kyle Hyland Foundation for Teen Support:
The KHF serves a vital need in our community and our organization is the only one of its kind not only in Benicia but in many other surrounding cities. Benicia is a small town where teens have few places to go to gather and support each other. While improvements have been made in the level of mental health services provided by local school districts, many teens in trouble often struggle to find the support they need. Parents with at-risk teens also encounter difficulty finding the help they need, with few local resources or referrals. The stigma of mental illness remains with little to no understanding in the general public. As a result of this lack of support and resources, youth continue to battle anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. The mental health of the youth has been even more impacted as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic.

The mission of the Kyle Hyland Foundation for Teen Support is to provide charitable and educational support to teens by establishing a teen center where youth can be provided emotional support through mentoring, counseling, music and art. The Benicia Teen Center, located at 1135 Church Street, was established in January, 2016. In 2019, we served over 180 teens.

To learn more about The Kyle Hyland Foundation and its teen support programs, please visit https://kylehyland.com/.