NEW ALBANY, Ind. (WDRB) -- Two southern Indiana high schools put their rivalry aside Thursday evening for an important cause.

The Floyd Central and New Albany soccer teams used their Hoosier Hills Conference doubleheader at Green Valley Elementary School to raise awareness about suicide prevention.

The Bulldogs wore jerseys with the words "Be Kind" and the initials "ERW" on them in honor of 13-year-old Ella Walker, who died by suicide in January. The Highlanders wore jerseys that also said "Be Kind," along with teal and purple ribbons for suicide prevention and awareness.

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During the Hoosier Hills Conference soccer doubleheader between New Albany and Floyd Central high schools on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022, the teams honored 13-year-old Ella Walker, who died by suicide in January. The schools joined together to raise awareness about suicide prevention. (WDRB photo)

Walker would have been a freshman at New Albany High School this year, where her sister, a senior, is on the soccer team. Her family is working to bring more resources to southern Indiana to help children struggling with their mental health. They want to make sure what happened to their daughter doesn't happen to anyone else.

"We're surviving. It's devastating," Trinna Walker, Ella's mother, said. "I mean, you go to work, you do your job, you come home and you're still faced with the same reality that your child's not there."

Walker added that more mental health resources are needed in southern Indiana. 

"There's nothing really in southern Indiana, New Albany, Clark County, nothing," she said.

The places that are around have lengthy waits. Some say months.

"As a health care professional, we have to make sure we're holding up our end of the bargain. I do know a lot of providers in the area are working on open access, where people can be seen right then on the spot, and really ramping up to meet that need," said Dr. Eric Yazel,  Clark County Health officer. "Like many other things there's a workforce shortage."

Proceeds raised through a donation box at Thursday's game will support the Jed Foundation, a nonprofit focused on suicide prevention for teens, as well as protecting teens' emotional health by partnering with high schools and colleges to make mental health and suicide prevention programs stronger. Raffle tickets were also sold for a minimum of $1, with those profits also going to support the nonprofit. 

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