Born Out of Friendship
When 17-year-old Stuart H. Slusher committed suicide in May 2009, an entire community was stricken with grief and a sense of helplessness. The good-looking, smart, athletic teen seemed to have everything going for him. Stuart’s longtime friend Steven Ebert, a fellow student at Douglas Southall Freeman High School in Richmond, Virginia, dealt with Stuart’s death by becoming involved in the scholarship fund that Stuart’s parents had established, and then a new idea took root…an idea he coined the Hold Hope Initiative.
“Hold Hope is based on the idea that no matter how tough things get, there is always something to hold onto…hope.” — Steven Ebert
Steven saw an ad for Pepsi Refresh Everything, a program developed to provide grants to those with good ideas which need funding. He contacted the Slushers with the idea of applying to win $5,000 for the scholarship fund. “That’s great,” was their response, “but let’s think bigger.” They worked with the local school system to see what it would cost to fund a countywide, hands-on suicide prevention program, an upgrade from the self-administered multiple choice test. Steven created a video, posted it on Facebook and YouTube, and applied in the $50,000 category. By the thousands, people began getting involved — voting daily for the Hold Hope Initiative on the Pepsi Refresh website, and landing the program in the top tier within its category for three months. The Hold Hope Initiative did not win the grant, but they raised awareness and got people around the world talking about depression and suicide.
In the following months, Stuart’s mom, Alex, got an increasing number of calls and emails from people who wanted to share their stories, parents asking for help with their children, and organizations asking her to speak about what she had learned. She decided that if even one person could be helped by sharing their experience, it would make something positive come from their loss.
So the idea for this website was born – a place where parents, students, and friends could turn to find resources. Hold Hope seeks to establish community forums where students, teachers and experts can discuss suicide, depression and the surrounding issues.
If you would like to donate to Hold Hope, please click here.