HEBRON, Ky. — Boone County is coming together to support the need for mental health in a creative way to engage families.
"I get frustrated at times when I think about I'm able to help these people because I lost my son," said Zegarra, founder of Ethan's Purpose Foundation.
It's been 6.5 years since Zegarra lost her son, Ethan, to suicide.
"It's easy to look back and think what if, but we didn't know at the time," Zegarra said.
Now, she understands the difficult challenges facing many families.
With her son's struggles and her memories of him as inspiration, she created the nonprofit Ethan's Purpose Foundation to help others.
"We've had a rough year; we've lost quite a few students and a lot of adults in Boone County to suicide," Zegarra said.
On Tuesday night, Boone County School District and Zegarra plan to resonate hope and inspire the community through music and mental health awareness at Crossroads Church in Florence, Kentucky.
WATCH: How the community plans to come together and support mental health.
"Let's rally the troops, let's get together, let's start healing," Zegarra said.
It's a time to uplift and discuss the next steps toward mental health.
Zegarra said Ethan's Purpose is funding the Hope Squad Peer-to-Peer Suicide Prevention program over the next four years in Boone County schools. This social and emotional learning program is currently available at Conner High School.
"Honestly, I was at a rock bottom where I didn't want to live anymore," said Saho, founder of The Mental Game.
Saho, a former Cincinnati sports reporter, will bring awareness to the public through his story.
He now has a podcast called The Mental Game, where he interviews athletes and celebrities about their mental health journeys.
"My message is sharing messages of hope, giving them some of the tools that helped me that I didn't know until I was in a mental health treatment facility," Saho said.
Boone County Schools has resources like the Hope Squad, counselors on every campus, and mental health components in the curriculum. The programs try to help students feel safe.
"We hope that our students and our families have a conversation together and that they have conversations with their peers," said Hauswald, superintendent of Boone County Schools.
The primary purpose is to let them know they are not alone.
"It's just empowering our youth to be more educated," said Zegarra.
The Resonate Hope event will be held on April 29 at 6 p.m. inside Crossroads Church in Florence, Kentucky.
