Mental health is a topic of widespread importance, both in and outside of the Acton-Boxborough community. For Emma Cunningham, whose ten-year-old son Tylen died in 2017, mental health is a deeply relevant subject (Mahoney). In an interview, Ms. Cunningham volunteered her time to share her experience advocating for mental health resources and awareness. Q: For people hearing your story for the first time, how would you describe your journey and mission? A: “The journey’s been hard. I lost a child, and that’s not very easy at all. It’s something that weighs on me every single day, and that is in part why I really want to fight for other families to not have to go through what our family has gone through. The mission itself has not been an easy road. As with anything that involves change and politics, it takes a lot of time, so it can be a little frustrating.” Q: What inspired you to start advocating for suicide awareness and prevention? A: “My personal experience with it. It was something that was maybe on my radar before I lost Tylen. I work in special education. I’m a big part of the community, and obviously mental health is becoming a bigger and bigger problem as the years go by. But I think my loss is what really made me want to actively start with more advocacy. Also, being a teacher, having to do teacher trainings every year, I see where I believe those trainings have been lacking over the years.” Q: What are the main goals of your bill with State Representative Dan Sena? A: “The bill has actually been rolled into another very similar bill, so the bill number has changed to 8563. When I spoke to Dan Sena around four years ago, I had already reached out to school administrators. He was really the first person out of other state senators who asked for a zoom meeting. I shared Tylen’s story, and he was really the first person that went to action. The main goals of the bill are to increase the amount of training that teachers get for suicide prevention and suicide awareness. We want schools to match the standards that are set by the AFSP, which is the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention. Their guidelines are two hours per year for all school employees. That’s what Dan Sena and I had asked for. The bill that it has been merged with is only asking for two hours every other year, and only for licensed teachers. We will be asking for an amendment that brings the bill closer to what we originally asked for. I believe that that’s really, really important because it’s not just the licensed teachers that see students on a day-to-day basis. I myself am not a licensed teacher. I work in special education. I’m an ABA tutor. I work with children on the spectrum. I wouldn’t be included in that training. I believe that teaching assistants, I believe that cafeteria workers, I believe that people that students come into contact with every single day are quite often the people who have time to talk to students and notice when there are changes with students. I think it’s really, really important that those are the people that also get the training and know how to help students and where to direct them for help.”
Q: What responses have you received from students, educators, and lawmakers so far? A: “From other educators, I’ve had a very positive response, and that is across the board. Like I said, I work in the AB school district. Everyone that I work with knew Tylen and were affected by his loss. All his teachers were affected by his loss. I’ve had very positive support from them over the bill and just in response to any advocacy. Through the bill, I’ve come into contact with a lot of other educators in different parts of Massachusetts and, in general, it’s very, very positive. People want to help. I have a number of teacher friends in different towns that have lost students to suicide, that see their own students struggling, and they want to help. They want to help their students. I mean, that’s why we’re in teaching. We want to help our students. As for lawmakers, in general, it’s very positive. I’ve spoken to the state house twice, and I have heard from people on the panel afterwards to thank me for sharing my story. Unfortunately, with lawmakers, it all comes down to money. It’s what’s in the budget and funding, and they have to think of different things. But in general, it’s been pretty positive.” Q: What has been the most rewarding or fulfilling part of your social activism? A: “Probably the connections that I’ve made. I’ve met a lot of people. I’m continuing to meet a lot of people who have been either touched by suicide in their own lives or who just want to help, who just want to show up. I’ve made connections online with other parents, which is a wonderful resource for being able to connect with someone that has been through what you’re going through, on the really hard days, to reach out to someone, and they know exactly how you’re feeling. I guess just seeing the support. I do a lot of fundraisers in Tylen’s name within the community, and they’re still very well supported. I like to support causes that he thought were important. I still get deliveries from Amazon of things on a wish list and with notes from people that I’ve never met, thanking me for doing something kind in his name. Even with the Out of the Darkness Walk, people just coming and thanking you for your advocacy, it means a lot because it’s a long road. This bill still hasn’t been funded. That’s kind of where it’s stalled right now. Like I said, this has been probably a four year process. To know that people are still talking about it and are still interested in keeping conversations alive is probably the most rewarding part of it.” Through her story and social advocacy, Ms. Cunningham emphasizes the importance of discussing and learning about mental health within schools and families. Being open about uncomfortable subjects paves the way to make mental health a less socially taboo topic, a critical step in increasing suicide awareness and educating individuals on mental health. We would like to thank Ms. Cunningham for her insightful conversation, and we hope that this interview has inspired other members of the AB community to take on a more active role in understanding mental health.