Grants spread message about mental health awareness at second annual Spotlight event

In 2022, Grant’s daughter Jayda, 20, died by suicide. Grant and his wife Chris tried on their own to get Jayda the help she needed before she died but weren’t fully aware of all the resources available. They are now and have dedicated their lives to make sure others are as well.

The Grants were surrounded by some of those resources Wednesday night on Tom Blackburn Court at UD Arena during the second annual Spotlight Town Hall, To Shine a Light on Mental Health. The national Suicide & Crisis Lifeline number — 988 — was displayed on video boards around the arena as the Grants and others talked. Many different organizations from around the area and the state participated in a mental health resource fair before the event in the UD Arena concourse.

The couple hundred people in attendance, including Grant’s men’s basketball team, walked away with a better understanding of where to go if they need help with mental health issues.

“Knowledge is power,” Grant said. “That’s the motivation behind us doing these types of events.”

Chris Grant reflected on the struggles of her daughter and said she wished they had attended an event like The Spotlight with her to remind them of the resources and support available throughout the community.

“We want to encourage you to reach out and take advantage of it,” Chris said.

Credit: David Jablonski

Credit: David Jablonski

The keynote speaker Wednesday was Gloria Umanah, the founder of The Hope Booth, according to its website, is a “a reimagined telephone booth strategically redesigned to house evidence based 3-minute interactive immersive experiences purposed to deliver hope and connect individuals to free and cost reduced local help, support, mental health care and resources within proximity.”

Jay’s Light, the mental health and suicide prevention initiative created in Jayda’s honor, will soon fund the placement of a Hope Booth in Dayton. Umanah spoke about the booths and her own experience with suicidal thoughts.

Brandon Saho, a former Cincinnati TV sports reporter who now hosts The Mental Game podcast, moderated a panel discussion that included Umanah and others: Dr. Kelly Blankenship, associate chief medical officer for behavioral health at Dayton Children’s Hospital; Tia Marcel Moretti, chief advisor for the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services; and Tony Coder, the executive director of the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation.

The event preceded a charity exhibition game between Dayton and Xavier on Oct. 20. The sold-out game will raise money for Jay’s Light, the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation and other charities in the Dayton and Cincinnati area.

The Spotlight Town Hall gave Grant another chance to spread his message.

“I grew up in an era where you didn’t talk about mental health,” Grant said, “and at times people that struggled could be ostracized in certain ways. So, I think for my generation, we probably have stigmas around mental health.”

“Break the stigma” was another message seen often around UD Arena on Wednesday.

Grant said it was important to be “willing to have that conversation with your child and then also being willing to listen clearly to what they’re saying or what they’re going through and to understand that they want to be understood, not necessarily told what to do. Then if you don’t have the answers, the purpose of doing this is to have an idea of where to go to get those answers.”