LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A baseball game Friday night helped to break the stigma surrounding mental health.
The Louisville Bats hosted Mental Health Awareness Night at Slugger Field.
"Little things like this can help make it a little bit more normal," said Michelle Jones with The Pete Foundation for Depression Prevention. "Mental health issues can affect everyone no matter what, and it takes so many different forms."
Jones' older brother Pete struggled with depression and anxiety.
"Unfortunately, about two and a half years ago, my brother Pete passed away," Jones said. "He took his life in 2016 at the age of 23. He was funny. He was charming. He had a ton of friends."
Pete was a 4.0 student at the University of Louisville, getting a master's degree in engineering. He told his family he was "sad but didn't know why." He took a break from school and started seeing a psychiatrist.
Pete Jones
"Even though we knew he was suffering from depression, we had no idea that suicide was ever part of the equation," Jones said. "That never crossed our minds, even for a minute."
Pete left a note that said he suffered since he was a teenager, and there was no way his family could understand how he felt.
The Jones family immediately started the Pete Foundation for Depression Prevention.
"We just felt like we had to do something, because we quickly learned that so many families and so many individuals suffer from mental health issues," Jones said.
The Pete Foundation joined other local mental health organizations at Friday night's game to talk to families, spread awareness and normalize mental health.
"It feels really good to be a part of stuff like this and help talk about it," Jones said.
Michelle Jones with The Pete Foundation for Depression Prevention
They have hope that stories like Pete's can help save someone else.
For every $15 ticket sold at Friday's game, a $5 donation went to the Pete Foundation and five other local mental health organizations: Wellspring, NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), DBSA (Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance), Kentucky Counseling Center and Bridgehaven Mental Health Services.
For more information about The Pete Foundation and other mental health resources, click here.
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