Evan Hansen, a 21-year-old star football player at Wabash College in Indiana, committed suicide on September 10, two days after his college senior day.
The death has sparked a real conversation in his community about what he did and how the tragic story can be used to raise awareness of mental health issues.
On paper, Evan had everything to be happy — a promising career, the dream of becoming a nurse, and a loving family — obviously, it was not the case.
Moreover, his relatives are still in a state of shock over his decision to take his own life.
The Indiana football captain, who had previously dealt with depression, never told anyone that he had suicidal thoughts.
The young man’s parents — Chuck and Mary Hansen are now trying their best to turn the tragedy into something that can be useful to others.
They have spoken to some media outlets about suicide prevention in order to bring the issue to the forefront.
Speaking to a local news organization, Chuck Hansen stated: “The initial shock was gut-wrenching. I think a lesson from Evan is, if someone appears to have everything going for them, they can actually feel like this on the inside. It can affect anyone, and that’s something that needs to get out there.”
He added: “When the voices are telling you to go away by yourself, don’t go away by yourself, reach out.”
Mary went in the same direction and stated: “I don’t think some people like to talk about it, they’re embarrassed or whatever. It’s not really anything to be embarrassed about.”
The grieving dad concluded by: “If everyone reached out to two or three people a lot of good things would happen. I’m not going to let your legacy be lost.”
Experts will study Evan’s brain at Boston University for CTE. His parents hope to get some answers in a few months.
