Valley mom Francine Sumner is determined to ensure no child feels isolated or alone.
It's something her son Zachary did when he was a child.
Describing him as kind, funny, intelligent, and giving, Sumner also told ABC15 that Zach was fighting to conquer his mental illness.
"He was a pretty typical kid, a little annoying little brother and, you know, dry sense of humor and all of that until he was a sophomore in high school. There started to be, like, a chemical imbalance. Things started to change in his mind, and things would happen to him, and he would take it personally, and then he'd feel guilty about it because the stigma is people with mental illness are weak, then you internalize that," Sumner recalled.
Adored by his friends and his family, Sumner says Zach often felt invisible to others. In June of 2017, after spending two weeks in the hospital, Zach took his own life in what his mother calls a very manic moment.
"He saw four psychiatric providers in a six-month period, and in the very end, he was misdiagnosed and on the wrong medication. Antidepressants in bipolar teens increase suicidal ideation. I did not know that, and he really struggled that day. He wasn't thinking clearly. His thoughts were racing," Sumner said.
Turning heartbreak into a mission of hope for others, this community hero fought through her pain. After processing an unthinkable loss, she started the nonprofit organization Kid in the Corner .
"So, Kid in the Corner is a youth mental health awareness and suicide prevention nonprofit, and we're basically out to shatter the stigma that surrounds mental health, mental illness, and support the kid in the corner, however, that may be," Sumner explained.
Her program is making a big difference in schools across Arizona. Last year, more than 3,000 kids went through the program learning it's OK to not be OK and that there are tools to cope and look forward to better days ahead.
"We're here to shatter stigma, and we do it three ways, right? We educate and spread awareness. We go into schools, other youth groups, and sometimes workplaces. Our second pillar is to promote contagious kindness because without kindness to ourselves, none of it's going to work so we really have to understand how to talk to ourselves kindly, and how to support our friends. And then the third pillar is to connect to the community at large, to the amazing mental health resources we have here in Arizona," Sumner said.
The Penny Pledge is at the center of the Kid in the Corner program. Each 4th through 12th grader who goes through the program takes the Penny Pledge.
They learn how to start difficult conversations and are also encouraged to wear a penny. These small but powerful tokens serve as reminders to check in on someone who might be struggling.
"We pledge to reach out to the kid in the corner. We pledge to take care of our own mental health, and then we pledge to be a safe and caring person for others," Sumner added.
It’s a program about transforming the way we treat each other and remembering that simple acts of kindness can save lives.
"I can't change what happened to Zachary, but I feel like we really learned a lot. We can be the kid in the corner, or we might be the person that needs to support the kid in the corner. It's fluid," said Sumner. "We can become safe people for ourselves and for each other."
The Mental Health Matters AZ conference is happening on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. It's free and full of resources for parents, teachers, and people who work with kids.
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