MARION, Iowa (KCRG) – The fourth year of ‘Strike out the Stigma’ brought people together on the diamond. Instead of talking ball, mental health awareness was at the forefront at Prospect Meadows.
Rylee Lueken has been involved in the ‘Strike out the Stigma’ event since the mental health outreach initiative was founded in 2022.
“Mental health touches everyone in some way. Even if it doesn’t touch you personally, it touches someone that you know,” Lueken said.
Mike Farr helped get this event going following his son’s struggles with mental health.
“September 22, 2017, I lost my son to suicide,” Farr said.
He put his energy toward creating ‘Project Safe,’ which is built on educating others about suicide awareness.
“QPR. Question, persuade and refer classes is a two hour class. In that class, you will learn the signs you need to look for, you will learn about the proper questions to ask and you’ll also learn about the resources in the community,” he explained.
Farr is not alone. The Iowa City Liberty baseball team lost their teammate Owen Skelley to suicide in 2022.
“Something like this around a game for us is personal, because Owen loved baseball. This is what he did,” Iowa City Liberty baseball head coach Uby Martinez said.
The Lightning were a part of the first event and have made sure to return so they could learn more.
“It was really hard, because you know we were not educated. We were not ready for something like this,” Martinez explained. “You can go to college to be a teacher and they don’t have this in a handbook. Parents, they don’t have this in the handbook. I think we’re more prepared to talk to players and I think players are more open to talk to us. I think at that time we were at ground zero. We didn’t know anything about it.”
This event started with just four teams and has blossomed into a 16-team event filled with a night of resources and most importantly community.
“Io see that there’s 16 teams here and all these people, all these kids that are listening to this message and listening to each other, just just goes to show you you’re not alone,” Martinez added.
While athletes are known for being tough, it’s just as important to know how to ask for help.
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