Students Who Attacked Cherry Creek Continue to Fight for Their Mental Health

John Padilla, upper right, stands next to Giovani Villagrana, 14, holding a photo of his brother, Jack, 15, who took his own life in February, among students at Cherry Creek High School on Friday, April 5, 2019, in Greenwood Village, Colo. The students left the classroom to raise awareness about mental health and bullying. (Photo by Rachel Woolf/Special to the Denver Post)

Students who walked out of Cherry Creek High School five years ago to protest what they saw as a cover-up of their classmate’s suicide are still trying to share the message that young people can change the culture around mental health.

Jack Padilla, 15, committed suicide in March 2019. In response, some of his classmates and older brother started a group they called Jackstrong to push for more open discussion of mental health. Four of the leading members met Monday to discuss their ongoing work with The Denver Post.

The group began meeting to exchange ideas shortly after Jack’s death, said Gio Villagrana, 20, who is now a junior at Metropolitan State University Denver. Initially, they focused on events that would draw attention to the issue, including a school walkout and a Colorado Avalanche game dedicated to Jack, he said.

Since then, all have graduated and either gone on to college or careers. They have also testified on behalf of mental health legislation, including, most recently, legislation to create a mental health screening program for sixth- through 12th-grade students.

But the heart of their work is still helping young people help each other, said John Padilla, Jack’s 25-year-old older brother, who now lives in Montana.

“I think the political and social situation was completely different in 2019,” he said.

Rick Padilla, John and Jack’s father, said the group celebrated Jack’s life. He also became involved in mental health, changing careers to become a suicide prevention administrator at the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment after Jack’s death.

“We all want to be remembered, and these kids helped keep Jack’s memory alive,” he said.

The latest youth mental health data from 2023 showed that fewer young people reported possible depression or suicidal thoughts than at any point since 2013. The Healthy Kids Colorado study found that about 11% of young people had considered suicide in the previous year, 9% had made a plan and 6% had made an attempt.

Villagrana said he’s not sure whether youth mental health has actually improved since Jack’s death: Young people have even more to worry about now than they did then, but they also feel more open about their struggles. Adults are changing their views, too — his mother recently discussed whether a family member would benefit from therapy, something she would never have considered a few years ago, Villagrana said.

That’s especially noticeable when it comes to suicide, said Janie Wishmier, a 20-year-old who lives in Denver. During the 2019 walkout, students said adults at the school weren’t talking about Jack’s death or the suicide of another student earlier in the semester. The school held an assembly that she said focused on suicide prevention, unity and resilience.

“I think suicide is not as scary a word as it used to be,” Wishmier said.

Youth need space to process their feelings after the death of a peer who committed suicide, especially since not everyone grieves at the same time, according to Boston Children’s Hospital. Adults should be honest that the person committed suicide but should not discuss details such as the method or speculate about the cause, the guideline says. Any memorials should not blame the person for their death, but they also should not glorify it, to avoid the message that dying is a way to get sympathy or love.

High school is hard for almost everyone, and students need an environment where they feel comfortable talking to someone if they’re struggling, said Lily Osborne, 20, who attends the University of Nebraska Lincoln. They also need encouragement from people who have recently been through it that life gets better after high school, she said.

“You just have to get there,” she said.

People don’t automatically feel better when they go to college because they have to deal with new issues without the support of friends and parents, John Padilla said. The group is trying to reach more students on college campuses, including by showing documentaries he’s been working on about mental health in Colorado and offering viewers resource materials, he said.