By Jenifer Jahn
NKyTribune staff writer
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 50% of all mental illness begins by age 14, and 75% by age 24. Trends have also shown an increase in calls to 988, the suicide and mental health crisis hotline.
“Our call volume in Northern Kentucky has been up,” said Philip Parrott, Crisis and 988 Director for NorthKey Community Care, in 2025.
It is because of these concerning trends and statistics that The Blessing List Ministry, Cincinnati Children’s Zero Suicide Team and Newport Central Catholic High School are partnering to bring Real Talk & Real Hope 2026: An Evening About Suicide Prevention and Hope to the community.
The event is designed to bring parents and teens together for open, honest conversations about suicide prevention while providing practical information, resources and, most importantly, hope.
“The mission is to bring parents and teens together to encourage open, honest conversations about the very difficult topic of suicide prevention,” said Christine Whelan, a member of The Blessing List Ministry and Cincinnati Children’s Zero Suicide Team. “We all truly believe in the goal of ZERO suicides and wish to contribute to reaching that goal through hope and education.”
The idea for the event began with The Blessing List Ministry, which met in January to discuss projects for the year and decided to focus on supporting youth mental health.
Whelan, who is also a member of Cincinnati Children’s Zero Suicide Team, reached out to the team’s co-leaders about partnering on the event.
“They enthusiastically said yes,” Whelan said.
Several members of The Blessing List who helped organize the event also work at Newport Central Catholic, making the school a natural location for the program.
Newport Central Catholic is providing the space, while seven students and three staff members are serving on the planning team. According to Whelan, student input has been a priority throughout the planning process.
The Blessing List Ministry is coordinating the planning, fundraising, and promotion of the event. Organizers have raised $13,650 in corporate sponsorships, including Journey Advisory Group as the Platinum Sponsor and 12 additional corporate sponsors. Members of The Blessing List will also serve in volunteer roles during the event.
Cincinnati Children’s is bringing the expertise of its Zero Suicide Team and mental health professionals. Dr. Melissa Young and Dr. Brian Kurtz, co-leaders of the Zero Suicide Team, will present to parents, while mental health professionals will participate in a panel discussion and facilitate small-group conversations with teens.
For Whelan, the event carries a deeply personal significance. Her son, Joe, graduated from Newport Central Catholic and was a patient at Cincinnati Children’s for years before his death.
“I am so grateful to all of the organizations that are partnering together for this community event,” she said.
An evening of education
Real Talk & Real Hope will feature a keynote presentation from a young man who survived a suicide attempt as a teenager. Parents will learn practical steps they can take to reduce suicide risk, while teens will have an opportunity to ask questions of suicide-loss survivors and mental health professionals.
Teens will also have time to connect and participate in activities intended to build community and reinforce the message that no one is alone.
“We will have engaging activities that inspire and remind each of us that life is worth living and we are never alone,” Whelan said.
The event is geared toward students in grades 8-12 and their parents or caregivers. Educators, faith leaders, coaches and other concerned adults are also welcome.
Organizers hope the evening will help break down the stigma surrounding suicide by creating an environment where difficult conversations are welcomed.
“The vulnerability and experience of our planning team will set the tone that it is okay to talk about all of this,” Whelan said. “The openness of the team will show that it is safe and even encouraged to have these difficult conversations.”
The planning team includes parents who have lost children, friends who have lost friends and family members who have lost loved ones. Their lived experiences will be combined with evidence-based research and practical information from Cincinnati Children’s.
A professional support system will also be available for anyone who needs immediate care during the event.
Practical tools for families
One of the goals of the evening is to give families concrete steps they can take when someone they love is struggling.
Attendees will learn how to help keep a loved one safe by creating time and space between someone in crisis and access to lethal means. They will also learn about community resources, including the 988 Suicide and Mental Health Crisis Hotline.
“There has been a concerning number of youth suicides in the past several years in Northern Kentucky,” Whelan said. “Cincinnati Children’s Zero Suicide team has compiled data that helps guide the conversation.”
Whelan said increased research and knowledge about practical ways communities can reduce suicide risk make education especially important for both teens and adults.
A similar Cincinnati Children’s Zero Suicide event held in partnership with Thomas More College in February demonstrated the potential impact of bringing these conversations into the community.
Following that presentation, attendees were invited to submit questions and comments. One attendee wrote, “Thank you for doing events like this. You are saving lives. Tonight you saved mine.”
“There is nothing more important or impactful than that,” Whelan said.
Beginning of hope
Organizers hope Real Talk & Real Hope will leave attendees with a message that acknowledges life’s difficulties while emphasizing that difficult seasons do not have to be faced alone.
“Life will always have hard times. Life will always be worth living. Both are true,” Whelan said. “We can learn how to get through the hard times with specific, practical skills and with the love and support of others.”
As a tangible expression of that message, organizers have created Art of Encouragement note cards featuring artwork from Northern Kentucky students. Packs of greeting cards are available for purchase, with proceeds benefiting Cincinnati Children’s Zero Suicide.
For Whelan and the organizations behind Real Talk & Real Hope, the goal is not simply to provide information about suicide prevention. They want to educate families with the knowledge and confidence to have conversations that could make a difference. Organizers also want each person who attends to know they are not alone, that help is available, and that talking about suicide can be the beginning of hope and not something to fear.
Real Talk & Real Hope is a free event. Click here to register. To find out more or to donate to Cincinnati Children’s Zero Suicide, visit their website.
