COLUMBUS, Ohio — It’s difficult to talk about.
It needs to be talked about.
“He was an incredible man,” Craig Kish said. “He was really an incredible friend [and] a kind person that unfortunately had mental health issues that ended in a bad way.”
David Gilby was a The Ohio State University alum who, according to his Kappa Sigma fraternity brothers Kish and Blake Squires, was a loving father, husband and friend. He was a respected businessman in San Diego. He even developed a mental health app that helped others clear their minds.
All of that makes this difficult to talk about.
“David would want us to raise this conversation because even in himself you really didn’t know that he was dealing with issues that would result in what had happened,” Squires said.
Earlier this year, Gilby died by suicide.
Kish and Squires say they were stunned and devastated.
“I think the importance of talking about this as if you had heart disease or you had cancer…the discussion needs to be had well in advance and not be afraid to be transparent and the stigma mitigation…we’re trying to raise that awareness,” Kish said.
Awareness that mental health is a real thing and it should be talked about.
About the time of figuring out how to raise awareness came an announcement, Ohio State Buckeyes head football coach Ryan Day and his wife, Nina, gave $1 million to establish a mental health fund at Ohio State.
To Kish and Squires, it made perfect sense.
“Everybody’s dealing with it in some way or another,” Squires said. “And, Dave would want us…to do what we’re doing and that’s remembering him so that others can have a conversation.”
At this Saturday’s Ohio State and Notre Dame kickoff game, Kish and Squires will be there, tailgating, along with hundreds of fraternity brothers. They want to have a moment of silence and a chance to share thoughts and stories while, hopefully, raising some money for the fund that helps to research and promote mental health.
Squires said if they raise money, great. If not, what’s more important is just having the courage to talk about it.
“Just to remember Dave,” he said. “Remember Dave [and] who he was. The caring person he was and through our grief and our celebration of Dave, we’re hoping to raise the conversation.”
If you would like to donate to the Nina and Ryan Day Resilience Fund, you can click here.