‘Lights on the Lake’ lantern release aims to break the stigma of talking about suicide
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REXBURG – Local mental health advocates are joining together this weekend for an event they hope will lift and inspire attendees while breaking the stigma of talking about suicide and mental health.
Lights on the Lake will be held this Saturday, Sept. 27, at Jefferson County Lake (Rigby Lake). Check-in starts at 5:30 p.m. The itinerary includes a message from East Idaho Mental Health Clinic, lantern decorating, games, a chance to visit with mental health professionals, and the launching of lanterns. “Drummer Girl” Jessica Maddock will provide a sound bath while lanterns are released.
For a full schedule and to buy tickets in advance, visit the event website here. All proceeds will go toward funding mental health support for those who wouldn’t otherwise have access to it.
The first annual event will give people who attend an opportunity to remember and honor their loved ones lost to suicide, to honor their own resilience as they have battled mental health, or to simply offer support to those who struggle or who are mourning loved ones.
It’s a struggle Brandee Gordo knows all too well as the mother of a son who took his own life last year.
Eliah Gordo had a good life. He was outgoing and well-liked by his peers. He was a great athlete who played varsity baseball and was dating a cheerleader. He was involved at school and had been voted freshman class president by his classmates. Eliah didn’t fit the stereotypes of a kid who might be in danger of suicide.
“He was very social, very outgoing,” Brandee says. “He struggled a lot internally and nobody would have ever known.”
In August 2024, the Rexburg and Madison High School communities were shocked when Eliah lost his battle to mental health – a battle that few knew he was struggling with. He left behind a loving family and countless friends who will always feel the deep loss of his passing.
Brandee says Eliah had been fighting depression for about two-and-a-half years at the time of his death, and that she had struggled to find resources to help him, partly because Eliah wasn’t willing to accept help.
“When my son was struggling, it wasn’t something that he wanted to advertise openly,” Brandee says. “It’s a struggle that a lot of people think that they have to fight alone.”
Since Eliah’s passing, Brandee has made it her mission to get people talking about mental health and breaking the stigmas around discussing suicide. She wants people to know that needing help isn’t a weakness.
“I’m hoping that through my loss, other people can gain a perspective,” she says. “Statistically, it affects more people than we know. Those stereotypes of what depression looks like are no longer valid.”
Since her son’s passing, Brandee has teamed up with her friend and fellow mental health advocate, Kenzie Erikson, to create the “Just Stay” podcast. According to the “About” section on Apple Podcasts, the show is meant to “break the silence around mental health, offer support to those who feel alone, and remind listeners that even in the darkest moments, there is still a reason to just stay.”
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Because of their mission to promote mental health and suicide awareness, Brandee and Kenzie were invited to partner with East Idaho Mental Health Clinic for Lights on the Lake.
“We’re trying to raise funds to start a scholarship fund for people who can’t afford therapy,” Brandee says. “We think therapy is a huge part in getting people to talk about their mental health and getting people to take that first step in taking care of their mental health. But not everyone has access.”
Kristen Jackson is the manager of the board of directors for East Idaho Mental Health Clinic. One of the elements of Lights on the Lake that she is most looking forward to is giving out “honor beads.”
“Each color represents a different reason that you are there,” Jackson says. “Because you’ve lost a child, or you lost a partner, or you lost a friend. Maybe you’re there because you’ve struggled or you just want to support somebody, or you want to support a marginalized community. You might see somebody who is also wearing the same color and you make that connection without saying anything, and know you’re not alone.”
Jackson says that an “amazing private donor” who would like to remain anonymous has donated a number of lanterns for the event. Jackson invites anyone who would like to participate but who can’t afford the registration fee to reach out to them via private message on their Facebook page.
Finding sponsors for the event has proved challenging, Jackson says, because people have been hesitant to be connected to an event about suicide.
“We have found that as soon as you use the word ‘suicide,’ people back up and they back away from it,” Jackson says. “It’s almost like there’s a resistance–almost like it’s a dirty word that no one wants to say or be associated with.”
Jackson invites anyone who wants to support the event this year or in years to come to contact East Idaho Mental Health. She says that while there is heaviness around the topics of mental health and suicide, the organizers’ goals are to create an uplifting and supportive environment where people can work toward healing.
“We’ve got each other’s backs,” she says. “We’re not afraid to take on difficult conversations.”