For Desert Edge High School cheerleader Jaicee Dennis and Millennium High School football player Kiaun Davison, the spotlight that comes with representing their schools is an opportunity to remind other teenagers that asking for help is a sign of strength.
Dennis and Davison are among high school football players, cheerleaders, marching band members and other students across Arizona participating in Teen Lifeline’s annual Messages of Hope campaign during Teen Suicide Prevention Awareness Month in September.
The campaign features public service announcement-style videos in which students encourage their peers to reach out when they are struggling with their mental health.
Dennis, a junior at Desert Edge, said she joined the campaign because she wanted to use her voice to help students her age feel supported.
“What made me want to participate in the Teen Lifeline Messages of Hope was knowing that there was a chance for me to go out there and outreach to kids my age that are struggling,” Dennis said. “I could make a difference within my community, my sport and just being able to make that small little difference in order for someone to feel more welcomed and more comfortable.”
Dennis said watching friends and other students struggle has shown her that mental health challenges can affect not only an individual but also the people around them.
“It motivated me by allowing me to see how much it affected someone’s character and someone’s personality, and it really inspired me to make a change,” Dennis said.
She said teenagers face pressure from academics, athletics, family, friendships and expectations to succeed. Those pressures are not always visible to others.
“You can’t always know what someone is going through, and you have to be patient with everyone because everyone goes through their own hardships and struggles,” Dennis said.
Davison, a senior who plays cornerback, receiver and kickoff returner for Millennium, said mental health has long been an important subject in his family. His father worked in crisis services, and Davison said hearing how his father handled conversations with people who needed help reinforced the seriousness of the issue.
“It’s a big thing for me,” Davison said. “My dad worked in crisis for a really long time. He’s always made sure that we take our mental health very seriously, so I was down for spreading the message.”
Davison said he has also known friends who have struggled and believes his visibility as an athlete gives him an opportunity to help.
“We’re more than just athletes; we’re humans too,” Davison said. “So we relate to these experiences and just let people know that we’re humans because people might forget sometimes.”
Teen Lifeline says teenagers often turn to friends before adults when they are struggling, making peer voices an important part of suicide prevention efforts. Dennis and Davison said messages from other teenagers can resonate because students are experiencing many of the same pressures at the same time.
Dennis said peers may share classes, sports and similar experiences, creating connections that can make conversations easier. Still, she emphasized that teenagers should involve a trusted adult when a situation becomes serious.
“We can’t all do it alone,” Dennis said. “Sometimes you have to step back and look at the situation from a higher standpoint, and you have to always involve a trusted adult so they can actually take it and fix it.”
For Davison, the campaign also challenges an idea often associated with football — that toughness means handling problems alone.
“It’s a super hard thing to do,” Davison said of asking for help. “The mental toughness that it takes to admit that you’re not OK and that you need help is bigger than any sort of physical toughness that something like football could take.”
This year’s campaign has record participation, with dozens of students representing nearly 40 Arizona high schools. West Valley participants come from schools in Buckeye, Glendale, Goodyear, Peoria, Surprise, Tolleson and Waddell. Students are also participating from schools in Casa Grande, Cave Creek, Chandler, Gilbert, Marana, Mesa, Paradise Valley, Phoenix, Queen Creek, Scottsdale, Tempe and Tucson.
Dennis is joined at Desert Edge by varsity football player Zerek Sidney, while Davison represents Millennium. Other West Valley participants include Sanaa Holliday of Verrado, Vannya Murrieta Carrillo of Apollo, Brenna Winn of Liberty, Cooper Yackley of Shadow Ridge, Zaidee Sanchez of Tolleson Union and Sloan Vanarsdol of Canyon View.
Students recorded their videos during a June session at North Canyon High School in Phoenix, coming together with teammates and students they might otherwise consider rivals.
Dennis said that experience helped her see the students around her differently.
“It felt good to come together instead of always having that competition mindset,” Dennis said. “It allowed me to open my eyes to see this person isn’t just my competition. They’re also athletes my age, they’re going to school and they also have their struggles.”
Davison expressed a similar sentiment.
“It was cool that there’s a cause bigger than what we have going on in our sports or competitions,” he said.
Teen Lifeline, now in its 40th year of operation, provides a free and confidential hotline around the clock. According to the organization, nearly two-thirds of teenagers who contact the service do so because of relationship challenges involving friends, family members or significant others, while one in three contacts comes from a young person experiencing thoughts of suicide.
Dennis hopes the campaign encourages students not only to seek help themselves but also to pay closer attention to how they treat others.
“I really don’t feel like mental health is talked about enough,” Dennis said. “I feel like we all as a group need to talk about it more, have an open mindset and be there for anyone who needs us because you never know what’s happening on the inside.”
Davison said if his participation convinces even one person to seek support, the campaign will have accomplished something meaningful.
“The world,” Davison said when asked what helping one person would mean to him. “As small as one person is, [it] is as big as a whole entire community. Lives are very, very valuable.”
Teens seeking support can call Teen Lifeline 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 602-248-TEEN (8336) in Phoenix or 520-327-TEEN (8336) in Tucson. Texting is available at 602-248-8336 in Phoenix or 520-327-8336 in Tucson from 3:00 to 9:00 p.m. daily.
