A $20,000 grant from Robbie’s Hope Foundation will help Second Wind Fund provide mental health services and suicide prevention resources for at-risk teens and youth.

Denver-based Second Wind Fund was chosen as the recipient of the foundation’s first grant because of its focus on local youth under the age of 19 and its emphasis on treatment and suicide prevention, Kari Eckert, executive director of Robbie’s Hope Foundation, said in a news release.

“Teens don’t always know how or where to go to ask for help,” Eckert said in the release. “This is why the work being done by Second Wind Fund is so important. Having access to mental health resources is critical. Through the services they offer, Second Wind is providing a literal lifeline to those who have lost hope.”

Second Wind Fund provides up to 12 sessions of therapy from a specialized network of providers.

“This grant will allow Second Wind Fund to continue its vital work of providing treatment services to our youth in our community who are at risk of suicide,” Maureen Johnson, executive director for Second Wind Fund, said in the release. “This generous donation from Robbie’s Hope will have a direct impact on the number of young people we are able to reach.”

Robbie’s Hope Foundation is dedicated to saving lives by cutting teen suicide rates in half by 2028, Eckert said in the release.

“We hope to accomplish this aggressive vision by helping to destigmatize depression and anxiety, while we empower teens with the tools and resources they need to recognize warning signs and exercise early intervention strategies,” Eckert said in the release. “We seek to do this through teen-developed, teen-led structured programming, legislative reform and the support of local resources that specialize in teen therapy, such as the services provided by the Second Wind Fund.”

Robbie’s Hope was formed in early 2019 after 15-year-old Robbie Eckert, a sophomore at Lakewood High School, took his own life on Oct. 11, 2018. The Wheat Ridge-based foundation works to remove the stigma surrounding teen depression, teen anxiety and teen suicide. It supports organizations that specialize in providing mental health therapy to teens and works with schools to develop mental health curriculum. Learn more at www.robbies-hope.com.