Jack Padilla was 15 and a freshman at Denver’s Cherry Creek High School when online bullying and a struggle with mental health led him to take his own life. Jack died on February 14, 2019. Since that date, his family has made suicide prevention and mental health awareness their sole mission.
“This happened and our lives changed. My life is broken into two parts now: before Jack died and after Jack died,” says Jack’s older brother, John Padilla.
After his death, John got Jack’s friends together and asked them to write down what they thought could have saved Jack’s life. “I didn’t want Jack to be remembered as the kid who died in high school,” John says. “I wanted his peers to remember him for something he’d be proud of.” Collectively, they came up with a list of 11 items.