Springville teen launches clothing line aimed at changing suicide discussion

Springville teen launches clothing line aimed at changing suicide discussion

(yourtribeclothing, Instagram)


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SPRINGVILLE — Kaden Garcia had a close-knit group of friends within his neighborhood from the time he was in elementary and junior high school. The group included his best friend, Alex.

Kaden was 13 years old and in the eighth grade when Alex, also 13, took his own life. His sudden death took everyone within that friend circle by surprise. They were stunned and rattled. Alex was someone they knew well, but his friends weren’t aware of his struggles.

“That’s what took everyone by surprise, including his family, because none of us saw any of that coming,” Kaden recalls.

Fast forward to 2018, when another classmate took their own life. This time it was a student at Springville High School, where Kaden, a senior, attends. Although Kaden didn’t know the student well, he saw the impact it had on school’s students and faculty.

The day after the student died, the school’s resource officer “broke down and cried” in front of the class she taught. Kaden took that moment to heart.

He wanted to address the issue head-on in one way or another. He wanted to stop it from happening again.

“There needs to be an option for these kids,” Kaden said. “This can’t be happening.”

That’s why Kaden, along with his father, Jorge, got to work starting YourTribeClothing.Co in September. The point is to provide encouragement to those struggling with suicidal thoughts and depression with a simple way to let them know they are loved. Kaden's mother brought up the word “tribe” because of the word’s implication of community and camaraderie. The name stuck.

It’s a message Kaden cares more than anything else — so much that some of his friends told him they weren’t aware he was behind the shirts when they popped up on social media and gained some popularity.

“It just started as a little idea. We wanted to spread awareness around,” Kaden said. “Kids and families, teenagers especially, we want to give them a so-called tribe to be able to know they have people around them.”

The brand new company started selling T-shirts recently. Each shirt includes a positive word and semicolon on the front — a symbol that nothing is final — the company’s logo and the number for a national suicide hotline on the back.

Love;

Warr;or

Happ;ness

In all, there are 12 designs with various positive words — and designs with positive activities.

Trying to make a difference

Suicide is a problem that appears to be worsening in the U.S. On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new data that showed the suicide death rate in the country was the highest in at least 50 years. There were more than 47,000 suicides in the U.S. in 2017 alone.

“These sobering statistics are a wakeup call that we are losing too many Americans, too early and too often, to conditions that are preventable,” CDC director Robert Redfield said in a statement.

Utah has been among the hardest hit with the epidemic. In 2016, Utah was unceremoniously ranked the fifth-highest state in suicide death rate, according to CDC data. Only Montana, Alaska, Wyoming and New Mexico had higher rates. The rate of 21.8 deaths per 100,000 people was a decrease from the previous year but a sharp increase from 15.4 in 2005.

Warning signs & how to help

Warning signs of suicide

  • Talking about wanting to die
  • Looking for a way to kill oneself
  • Talking about feeling hopeless or having no purpose
  • Talking about feeling trapped or in unbearable pain
  • Talking about being a burden to others
  • Increasing the use of alcohol or drugs
  • Acting anxious, agitated or recklessly
  • Sleeping too little or too much
  • Withdrawing or feeling isolated
  • Showing rage or talking about seeking revenge
  • Displaying extreme mood swings
The more of these signs a person shows, the greater the risk. Warning signs are associated with suicide but may not be what causes a suicide. Information from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

What to do if you see warning signs of suicide

  • Do not leave the person alone
  • Remove any firearms, alcohol, drugs or sharp objects that could be used in a suicide attempt
  • Call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255)
  • Take the person to an emergency room or seek help from a medical or mental health professional
Information from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

It also had an impact in the Garcia household. In addition to his classmates, Kaden’s father also dealt with suicidal thoughts a few years ago. The thoughts were a nasty side effect from a medication he was prescribed after a heart attack.

“My son has kind of seen all that,” Jorge Garcia said. “He’s been experiencing all of that with us.”

After Kaden’s classmate committed suicide earlier this year, Jorge Garcia pulled Kaden and his friends to talk about suicide since that was clearly on their minds. The idea for a clothing line that addressed the issue personally came up during the discussion.

Kaden wanted to sell clothing as cheap as he could to push the message across. In fact, he said he hopes the company can eventually get to a point where he can hand out the clothing line’s T-shirts to teenagers for free.

They’ve had a few national plugs from social media influencers wearing their products, enough to get the ball rolling. They’ve even had companies and individuals ask for custom shirts made, including a filmmaker from Georgia, Jorge Garcia said.

“We’ve kind of been swamped with people approaching us, wanting to talk to us about it,” he said. “People have been inspired by it. The response has been just wanting to support and wanting to talk (about the issue). If anything, that’s the response we’ve been looking for. We wanted this as a conversation starter so you can talk.”

He's proud of his son for putting as much initiative as he has into the issue. He’s proud of Kaden’s work and desire to help others.

“I’m excited just to have him make a bit of difference, to choose to act,” Jorge Garcia said, fumbling around to find the right words to describe it. “We’ve always talked about acting versus being acted upon and that’s what I see happening. He’s acting on something instead of being acted upon. That’s really what the big message (of the clothing line) is.”

They hope the apparel can curb in-person and online bullying or to bring a serious discussion to suicide. They hope the T-shirts can at least change the narrative for those suffering or dealing with suicide.

“Suicide is such a stigmatized thing in our society and in high schools, and that’s not how it should be. It’s obviously not a good thing, but it’s not something that should lower someone as a person,” Kaden added. “If someone can survive through that or someone does commit suicide, it shouldn’t be something that defines them.”

Like the semicolon symbol, they don't believe a person's story should end there.

“Another point of this company is that these kids and teenagers, they always have someone,” Kaden said. “They always have a reason.”

Suicide Prevention Resources
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, call the suicide prevention hotline at 1-800-273-TALK.

Crisis Hotlines

  • Utah County Crisis Line: 801-691-5433
  • Salt Lake County/UNI Crisis Line: 801-587-3000
  • Wasatch Mental Health Crisis Line: 801-373-7393
  • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
  • Trevor Project Hotline for LGBTQ teens: 1-866-488-7386

Online resources

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Carter Williams is an award-winning reporter who covers general news, outdoors, history and sports for KSL.com.

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