Matthew Mayberry, club president and junior

What is Robbie’s Hope and why did you create this club?

Robbie’s Hope is a club that is focused on ending the epidemic of teen suicide, specifically within Indiana. The organization of Robbie’s Hope is a fundraising organization, founded by Robbie Eckert’s parents after he committed suicide. They wanted to make sure that tragedy wouldn’t happen to anyone else. We, here at Carmel, realized that we could have an opportunity to help end this issue. So, we decided to bring a chapter to Carmel. 

Why is suicide awareness and teen mental health important to you?

Suicide awareness is a really important issue because it affects a lot of people more than we realize. It’s one of the largest leading causes of death among people in general and teenagers, and a lot of people struggle with their mental health, and so being able to help solve that issue is really important.

What kind of events does Robbie’s Hope host?

Our chapter is pretty new, so we haven’t started hosting any fundraising events yet, but we are looking forward to doing so soon. We have a few different ideas lined up, but looking at other schools, schools like Westfield host very large events through Robbie’s Hope that are really fun, so we’re looking forward to doing some of those.

What does a typical meeting look like?

The two meetings that we’ve had so far are mainly focused on introducing what Robbie’s Hope is conceptually, as well as looking for future ideas and how we can improve awareness throughout the school and the community, but also what sort of events, such as fundraising opportunities we can hold, as well as generally how we can help people know that we are out there.

Why would you recommend students to join Robbie’s Hope?

I would recommend students to join our chapter because it is a new club and we’re still figuring out a lot of different opportunities or ideas about what the specific vision for our chapter is. So if you want to have a voice in that, you can also earn NHS hours or volunteer hours if you are working during some of our fundraising events. If you believe that teen suicide awareness is an important issue, and you want to help solve that, then you should join our club.

Emily Dunn, club sponsor and English teacher

Why did you decide to sponsor Robbie’s Hope?

First, I decided to sponsor it because a couple of students asked me to, and I felt it was important to give voice to their concerns about mental health and the increasing trend of students feeling more anxious and more depressed. I know a lot of teenagers struggle with feeling that community and support. A lot of times, they feel really isolated, and they don’t have a community of people to have their backs. We want Robbie’s Hope to be a space where they have that community, they have that voice and they know they have a place to go when they’re feeling upset or alone in the world, because they’re not. 

What is your favorite part of Robbie’s Hope?

My favorite part is that it’s student-led, and I get to see all of the club members be leaders in their own way, reaching out to these organizations, figuring out logistics, figuring out fundraising and helping each other make it happen. It’s such a joy for me to see how motivated they are to make Carmel and the community a better place through supporting one another’s mental health journey.

What do you hope students gain from participating in the club?

I hope students gain friendships and support systems that they know they can go to without judgment because I think that’s a big part of mental health. With mental health struggles comes the feeling of judgment, you feel that stigma of the struggle, but our hope is that by becoming members of the club, by participating in this outreach that we’re doing, they can avoid that feeling of judgment that comes with it, because it’s a safe space. Our Robbie’s Hope meetings are judgment-free zones, where people can sort of come together and see what resources there are to help them move forward on their mental health journey.

Is there anything else you want to add?

By joining the club, especially if you’re someone who either struggles with mental health or doesn’t struggle with mental health, feeling that connection with your fellow classmates is so purposeful, and it gives you such a sense of community. I think there’s a lot of hidden bullying, hidden struggles and hidden conflicts that we don’t see, and we’re hoping to sort of shed a light on that and let students know that there is a judgment free place they can go, where they know they will have the support and the care of their fellow classmates, and of me, their sponsor.