OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — “I’m grateful for each and every thing I get because I know just how quickly it can be taken away,” said Carson Molle.
A few years ago, Carson made a decision that changed his life — and because of that experience, he’s working to change the lives of those around him.
"Now that I'm 18, my suicide attempt was four years ago, when I was 14 years old. And kind of recently, within probably the past six or seven months... actually, almost a year now that I think about it, I’ve kind of started sharing my story in hopes that I could possibly help others," said Carson.
Carson and his mom, Amber, are two of the keynote speakers at this year’s Nebraska School Mental Health Conference, which will take place virtually on June 2nd and 3rd.
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"We spent a good amount of time at Children’s Hospital and a lot of parents didn’t walk out the doors with their child like we did. So I feel not necessarily an obligation, but a drive to try to help other people because we've been given this enormous gift of life," said Amber.
The upcoming conference is put on by the Kim Foundation, a local nonprofit that aims to enrich lives through mental health awareness and suicide prevention.
Julia Hebenstreit is the CEO of the Kim Foundation. She said the conference helps people better understand the issues youth are facing, especially as we come out of the pandemic.
“We have over 400 people already registered which is exciting and we know we’ll get some more these next couple weeks before the event. It really just brings people throughout the state together who prioritize school mental health," said Hebenstreit.
People from all kinds of backgrounds attend the event each year — from legislators to educators, healthcare providers to youth themselves.
"Our hope is that people do take away hope from this and tools that they can actually implement for their school," said Hebenstreit.
As for Carson, his goals for the conference are to remind young people that they aren’t alone and that challenging times don’t last forever.
“I figured if I can even save one life, if I can stop anyone, even one person from attempting suicide, then sharing my story, everything I’ve done in the past four years would have been absolutely worth it,” said Carson.
Registration for the conference is $50. Visit the Kim Foundation's website for more.
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