Teenage depression/suicide presentation on February 3rd

I worked really hard to make this presentation happen and I expect it to be a very worthwhile event. I will do anything I can to help get rid of the stigma associated with teen depression (and depression in general).

Eric Hipple is a former Detroit Lions quarterback who became an overnight fan favorite in Detroit after he passed for four touchdowns and rushed for two others in his first NFL start: a 48-17 win over the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football in October of 1981. I remember watching that game on TV like it was yesterday. (Note: My other vivid memory of Hipple was him getting jacked up by Tampa Bay Buccaneer Scott Brantley in 1985. Check out the video below.)



Unfortunately, in April of 2000 Hipple's 15-year-old son Jeff took his own life after struggling for years with undiagnosed depression. Since then, he's been on a crusade to help educate teenagers and parents about depression by giving talks to community groups, working as an outreach represenative for the University of Michigan Depression Center, and authoring a book called Real Men Do Cry. “I somehow feel that if I can save just one life, then Jeff’s death was not in vain,” Hipple says. God bless you, Eric.

Please feel free to pass on the info if you're local. And a special thank-you to Debbie Liedel of the Family Center of Grosse Pointe & Harper Woods for helping make this event a reality.

(Click on the image below to make it bigger/easier to read.)