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Speaker at Keystone talks about mental health

Times-Tribune (Scranton, PA) - 10/17/2014

Oct. 17--LA PLUME TWP. -- Tackling the topics of mental health and depression isn't easy, but a group who visited Keystone College on Thursday knows how important it is to raise awareness.

The presentation from the Lou Ruspi Jr. Foundation is partly a way to honor the memory of the Valley View High School graduate and Keystone College student studying pre-med. In 2011, at the age of 26, Mr. Ruspi committed suicide.

"Everyone that met him became instant friends, he made everyone feel like they were on top of the world," said Theresa Stann about her brother.

Six months after Mr. Ruspi's death, his sisters, Ms. Stann and Karla Farina, started the foundation to smother the stigma surrounding suicide, address mental health issues, and spread the message that help is available. Suicide is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. claiming 38 thousand lives a year.

"There's a lack of education in mental health, it's just a hard topic to discuss," said Ms. Stann. "We saw in our face the repercussions of the lack of education, in our own family," she added.

The foundation travels to middle and high schools, at no cost to the districts, educating students on depression and other mental health topics.

Christine DeSousa, a counselor at Marywood University, led the presentation and broached the sensitive subjects of depression, bipolar disorder, suicide and self-harm.

"If you're willing to take care of your physical self, you need to take care of your mental self," Ms. DeSousa said.

Students were asked to break into four groups on how the presentation was making them feel, to drive home the point that people are not always alone in their feelings.

"I really liked it," said student Joshua Caracappa, 22, of the Peckville section of Blakely. "Both speakers made it personal and that helped get their point across."

Ms. Stann hopes that schools will be more receptive of the program and acknowledge that students could benefit from the information. In the 2013-14 school year, the foundation did 15 presentations and Ms. Stann is hoping to double that number this year.

Information on foundation can be viewed at www.LouRuspiJrFoundation.com.

Contact the writer:

blopes@wcexaminer.com

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