ABOUT US
Captain of Brentwood’s Track Team, Matthew Silverman, is fighting for yet another 1st place win.
In January of 2006, in the midst of teenage depression, my 18-year-old son, Matthew took his own life. Matt chose a permanent solution to a temporary problem, and with it, his limitless potential, and his warm, kind, genuine, loving soul were lost to us. Matt was an exceptional young man, who in his all too brief life, made a positive and lasting impact on all who knew him.
Unfortunately, Matt’s decision to take his life does not represent an isolated or infrequent tragedy. More than 43 million Americans suffer from mental health such as bipolar, depression, obsessive compulsion and anxiety. One in five Americans experience mental illness annually. In particular, teen depression over the last decade has increased 60% percent. These are issues that affect young adults everywhere regardless of race, religion, gender and socio-economic background. A recent study from the Journal of Abnormal Psychology compared rates of depression, distress and suicidal thoughts and behavior among various age groupings correlated with a shift in individuals accounts of happiness. Young adults born in 1999 were reported to be roughly 50% more likely to than those born in 1985 to report feelings of “serious psychological distress”. This is strongly supported with the CDC stats indicating a 56% increases in suicide rate among persons aged 10–24 between 2007 to 2017, which had previously remain stable a decade prior. Youth suicide and teen mental health has become a public health emergency, imperiling a whole generation of children. It behooves us all to take a stance to break down the stigma around mental health.
To find meaning and purpose after Matt took his life, we formed the Matthew Silverman Memorial Foundation. I wanted to reduced the possibility that any family had to go through the pain that mine has gone through. With that hope, my main goal has been to open the dialogue on mental health between youth, parents and educators. Matt’s Foundation is dedicated to preventing teen suicide by underwriting lifeline prevention, awareness and mental health programs. Since the inception of our school programming in 2015 we have presented in over 150 institutions and conducted 319 programs in elementary, middle, high schools, colleges and community centers across the United States. With your help we cover over 99% of the expenses for programming, which can cost up to $10,000.00 per school, per year.
With your generosity and support, the Matthew Silverman Memorial Foundation will continue to implement compelling youth mental health programs, support partner charities, and host events which are designed to both raise funds and awareness. Thank you for helping us save the lives of young people.
Warmest regards,
Ron Silverman
Founder
Matthew Silverman Memorial Foundation
ABOUT MATTHEW SILVERMAN MEMORIAL FOUNDATION
MATTHEW SILVERMAN MEMORIAL VIDEO
If you would like to help us combat teen suicide and donate to the Matthew Silverman Memorial Foundation, please use the link below.
CONTACT
If you have any questions or comments regarding the foundation, donation, event, or website, please contact Candace via email or the form below.
Candace Yoder, Executive Director - candace@mattsfoundation.org
Matthew Silverman Memorial Foundation
324 S. Beverly Drive #411
Beverly Hills, CA 90212