SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – Joe Gallagher described his daughter Alyson as an athlete and an artist. He said she was his best friend.
Then, in 2007, just one month shy of her 22nd birthday, Gallagher said his daughter died by suicide.
“At that point, (my wife) Helen and myself really thought the world had come to an end,” he said.
News 6 sat down with Gallagher as he shared his daughter’s story and how her death inspired his family to make a difference.
Gallagher said he noticed a change in Alyson during her teenage years.
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“Going from middle school to high school, it was almost like a switch went off,” Gallagher said.
He said there were points in time when his daughter would not leave her bedroom until he and his wife Helen left. They would return home and find her straight back in her room. At first, they wrote it off as her being a teenager. He then started to realize things were much worse.
“When she was on her meds, it was like a rollercoaster,” Gallagher said. “She was having episodes. She would get on her meds, she would feel better, she would get off the meds. It was a cycle that we could never break.”
About a week or two before Alyson died, her father said he started to see some changes in a positive way.
“A couple days before Alyson took her life, she comes outside and she’s like, ‘Dad, I need to talk to you.’ So, I say, ‘What’s up, Alyson?’ She goes, ‘I’ve been thinking about this, and you really work hard for mom and me. Thank you.’ And, then she goes, ‘Can I give you a hug?’ And, uh, we hugged.”
Gallagher said he realized the need for more mental health resources for adolescents as he tried to help his daughter.
After her death, he said the support from the community gave his family the drive to start Ali’s Hope Foundation.
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“The feelings that we had that we were by ourselves, and we were like in a little tugboat out in the ocean, maybe as a community we can come together and do something a little better and provide better outcomes and better opportunities for our children,” Gallagher said.
Ali’s Hope Foundation now provides funding for mental health resources to promote access to treatment, sustainability of programs and stabilization for those in need. It’s a driving force behind creating wellness clubs in different high schools in Seminole County.
Our cameras got an inside look at the lounge set up at Lake Mary High School, the first school to implement one with the help from Ali’s Hope. It’s a place where students can have open conversations and get the support they need from peers or professionals.
Kim Compton is a school social worker who staffs the student lounge. She said she’s available all hours of the day to students.
“When it first started, it was quiet. You know, the opening times, it was a couple kids that would trickle in,” Compton said. “Now, it’s like sometimes we have to stand at the door. We’re reaching capacity and we have to cycle kids in and out.”
Compton said sometimes kids have more serious needs, other times they simply need a place to relax or someone to talk to.
“A kid that comes back once or twice, obviously they are making a connection. They’re feeling safe, you know? And, hearing feedback from the students to me is the biggest deal,” Compton said.
And they’re not just talking to each other—they’re also reaching more people with their own podcast called “Let’s Get Real!”
We asked 11th-grader Kiala-Jo Colins and Julia Shade what the space means to them.
“It really is more of a getaway from school for me to decompress or if I’m really feeling anxious or I feel like I’m about to have an anxiety attack,” Collins said.
Shade added she didn’t know where to go between classes before this space emerged.
“I would feel like a restlessness in my legs, just wandering the halls aimlessly,” Shade said. “Really this place just became an anchor. The fact that I knew no matter what happened I had a place to return to.”
Gallagher said seeing the real impact the foundation has on young people is the best reward. And, thanks to Ali’s Hope, there is help.
“I feel very blessed that I had that time with my daughter, but I also know she’s looking down from heaven right now saying, ‘Dad, you’re doing good, you’re doing really good,’” he said.
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