John Padilla (top right) stands next to Giovani Villagrana (14) holding a photo of his brother Jack (15), who committed suicide in February, among students at Cherry Creek High School in Greenwood Village, Colorado, on Friday, April 5, 2019. Students walked out of class to raise awareness about mental health and bullying. (Photo by Rachel Wolf/Special to The Denver Post)
Students who walked out of Cherry Creek High School five years ago in protest at the school’s trivialization of a classmate’s suicide are now working to spread the message that young people can change the culture around mental health.
After 15-year-old Jack Padilla died by suicide in March 2019, several of his classmates and his brother started a group called “JackStrong” to promote more open discussions about mental health. Four core members met with The Denver Post on Monday to talk about their ongoing efforts.
The group began meeting to brainstorm soon after Jack’s death, said Gio Villagrana, 20, who now attends Metropolitan State University of Denver. They initially focused on events that would draw attention to the issue, such as a school walkout or a Colorado Avalanche game dedicated to Jack.
![Rick Padilla wears a Jack Strong bracelet on his wrist as he speaks about the loss of his son in Greenwood Village, Colorado, on May 30, 2019. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)](https://i0.wp.com/www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/TDP-L-Teen-Suicide-_HHR6811.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1)
Since then, they have all graduated, gone on to college or started working. They have also testified in support of mental health bills, including most recently a bill that would create a mental health screening program for students in grades 6 through 12.
But their work remains centered on helping young people help each other, said Jack’s older brother, John Padilla, 25, who now lives in Montana.
“I think the political climate and the social climate was very different in 2019,” he said.
The group is a celebration of Jack’s life, said Rick Padilla, John and Jack’s father, who also worked in mental health and became a suicide prevention manager for the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment after Jack’s death.
“We all want to be remembered and these kids have helped keep Jack’s memory alive,” he said.
The latest data on youth mental health in 2023 showed the lowest rates of young people reporting depression or possible suicidal thoughts since 2013. In the Healthy Kids Colorado survey, about 11% of young people had thought about suicide in the past year, 9% had made a plan and 6% had attempted suicide.
![Janine Padilla, left, and her husband, Rick, talk about the death of their son, Jack, at their home in Greenwood Village, Colorado, on May 30, 2019. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)](https://i0.wp.com/www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/TDP-L-Teen-Suicide-_HHR6777.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1)
Villagrana said he doesn’t know if young people’s mental health has actually improved since Jack died. Young people have a lot more to worry about than they did then, but they’re also more open about what’s bothering them. Adults are thinking differently, too. Jack’s mother recently spoken about whether the family would benefit from therapy, something Villagrana said would never have considered a few years ago.
That’s especially true when it comes to talking about suicide, said Janie Wishmire, 20, of Denver. During the 2019 walkout, students said adults at the school hadn’t discussed Jack’s death or the other student suicides that occurred earlier in the semester. The school held assemblies focused on suicide prevention, unity and resilience, she said.
“I don’t think suicide is as scary a word as it once was,” Wishmire said.
According to Boston Children’s Hospital, young people need time to process their emotions after a peer’s suicide, especially since not everyone grieves at the same time. Adults should be honest about the person’s suicide but avoid sharing details such as the method or speculating about the cause, the guidelines say. Memorials should not blame the person for their death, but they also shouldn’t glamorize them to avoid sending the message that dying is a way to gain sympathy or affection.
High school is difficult for most people, and students need someone they can talk to when they’re struggling, said Lily Osborne, 20, a student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. They also need encouragement from others who have recently been through the same thing that life gets better after they graduate, she said.
![From left, Gio Villagrana, Janie Wishmire, Lily Osborne and John Padilla pose with a photo of Jack Padilla on a memorial bench at Village Greens Park in Greenwood Village on July 1, 2024. Jack Padilla committed suicide in 2019. The group has organized walkouts at Cherry Creek High School, demanding that schools discuss suicide and pushing for a cultural change around mental health. (Photo by Meg Wingerter/The Denver Post)](https://i0.wp.com/www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/TDP-L-Youth-01.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1)
“We just need to get there,” she said.
But getting to college doesn’t automatically make them feel better, as they have to deal with new pressures without friends or parents to support them, John Padilla said. He said the organization is working to reach more students on college campuses, including by screening his documentary about mental health in Colorado and providing resources to viewers.
John Padilla said a “top-down” approach, where authority figures initiate programs or tell young people what to do, is not effective in improving mental health. Young people need to know how they can be helped, and one of the most effective things young people can do is ask a struggling friend if they have plans to commit suicide, he said. Research has repeatedly shown that asking about suicide does not plant the idea in someone’s mind or encourage them to commit suicide.
Lasting change will only come about when communities come together to address mental health issues, Villagrana said.
“I don’t think mental health issues can be solved in any other way,” he said.
Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get health news delivered straight to your inbox.