Content Warning: this article discusses a loss due to suicide.
September is National Suicide Prevention Month – an important time for communities to come together to learn how to talk about mental health with loved ones and support one another through challenging times. Today, we talk to Katy Gamertsfelder and Bridget Readey, MHAOhio supporters, about their experience losing a dear friend to suicide and the incredible work they’re doing to raise awareness in their community.
Since 2019, Katy, Bridget, and a big group of their friends have been getting together for pickup volleyball games every week. They usually go to Woodland’s Backyard in Grandview, where they have all found deep comradery and friendship in playing the sport. Their unofficial “coach” was Alex Willhelm, a Case Manager for Central Ohio Primary Care, an outdoor enthusiast, and a great friend with a contagious laugh.
When Alex passed suddenly in March 2021, the last thing his friends and family expected was that he’d died by suicide. Katy and Bridget explained that everyone dealt with their grief in their own ways.
“For the first month or so we checked in daily,” Bridget explains. “Now we’re more straight to the point, it’s like, ‘just spit it out.’ We come forward now and say when we’re struggling, and we tell each other that it’ll be okay.”
To honor the memory of Alex, Katy and Bridget hosted a huge volleyball tournament in July, called Spike the Stigma, MENd the Mind, in an effort to break down the stigma of mental illness among their peers. They shared about suicide prevention education, mental health and self-care, and specifically about how mental illness impacts men, specifically.
“Society puts men in a box,” Katy says. “But, if you’re facing a crisis, if you don’t feel good about your body, if you don’t feel like you have close friends you can talk to, if you’re unhappy with your job… whatever the trigger may be, if you don’t talk about them with anyone no one can help you, so it’s important to speak up.”
Since Alex’s passing, his parents Randy and Cathy, have been talking about mental illness more in their Dayton community.
“We had no idea that Alex was suffering mentally, and we chose to be open from the beginning about the way Alex died,” Cathy says. “It was important to us to be honest and possibly help someone suffering silently, the same way Alex did. The support of our family, Alex’s friends, and our friends, along with our faith have gotten us through a very difficult time. We are especially grateful to Katy and Bridget for raising awareness of men’s mental health issues and keeping Alex’s memory alive through the fundraiser they hosted.”
Spike the Stigma had about 600 total attendees throughout the day. All proceeds from the event were split between LOSS Community Services and MHAOhio, which hosts the Franklin County Suicide Prevention Coalition. Katy and Bridget hope to have the event for years to come and continue to find ways to break the stigma and honor their friend Alex.
“He just radiated this light, whether it was his laugh or smile,” Bridget says. “He impacted every single person he met in a positive way… he will always be in our hearts,” says Katy.
If you or your loved ones need mental health support, please check out MHAOhio’s services, text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.
