Today we’d like to introduce you to David Arellano.
Hi David, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
The 988 Initiative is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization that was started by Jake Hertzman while he was a student-athlete at Sycamore High School. The mission statement was to raise awareness and start conversations around mental health. Jake became aware of mental health in 2019 while playing club baseball; during a baseball tournament in Brown County, Ohio, a film crew was interviewing baseball players for a role in a movie called Chance. The movie stars Matthew Modine, and it was based on the true story of Chance Smith, a teenager from Ohio who killed himself. Jake played Chance during his middle school to high school years as a student-baseball player. Chance’s parents talked to Jake about the struggles he went through, especially the cyberbullying that he was facing. After the movie premiered in early 2020, Jake and his family experienced a family tragedy when his own cousin, struggling with his own mental health battles, hurt himself in late 2020. This experience had a huge effect on Jake and his younger brother, Zach.
Heading into 2021, Jake had learned that his parent’s cell phone carrier was turning on the 988 number way before the government’s scheduled date of July 15, 2022. Through these recent events, mental health advocacy had become a close-to-home issue that Jake had a passion for, and that is why The 988 Initiative was started.
Jake’s younger brother, Zach, helped design the 988 Initiative logo, and soon after, Jake received approval from both the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) and National Federation of High School Sports (NFHS) that would allow student-athletes to wear a 988 Initiative sticker or patch on any sporting equipment and uniform. Wearing the 988 logo showed that student-athletes were aware of how important mental health was, and having conversations with trusted ones was important.
Since then, The 988 Initiative has collaborated with other non-profit organizations (Ben Morrison Fund, MyFaveFive, and 1N5) in raising awareness about mental health at numerous high school games in greater Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
At first, it was a slow process in having discussions with athletic directors to allowing The 988 Initiative to have mental health games let alone displaying the sticker or patch on any sporting equipment. The Sycamore baseball coach was the first to allow the 988 patch to be sewn on uniforms and stickers worn on batting helmets. Then the Loveland Athletic Director gave a student-athlete, Lauren Arellano, the opportunity to share her story regarding her struggles with mental health in front of a parent and student-athlete sports assembly. While Jake shared his story about the 988 Initiative, 988 Initiative stickers were being handed out. Later that week, some parents at the assembly connected another local non-profit organization – the Ben Morrison Fund, with Jake and another board member, David Arellano, of the 988 Initiative. Quickly, these two organizations were able to host multiple mental health games at Loveland High School along with Loveland’s Hope Squad and the MyFaveFive.
Social media helped spread the word and soon other schools wanted to host mental health games including Lebanon, Fairfield, Moeller, Kings, Walnut Hills, Anderson, St, Xavier, St. Francis de Sales and other schools. So far, thousands of bands, stickers, and other mental health resources have been handed out, and lots of personal mental health and suicidal stories have been shared.
Recently, the Cincinnati Reds Community Cares have recognized the tremendous work that The 988 Initiative has done along with their ambassadors.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I work at Western and Southern Financial Group, and my title is Senior Institutional Manager. At Western and Southern, they encourage their employees to volunteer at local community groups or non-profit organizations. Recently, my previous manager and another colleague nominated me for the Humanitarian Award at Western and Southern for the time and effort that I put into The 988 Initiative. I am very grateful for the opportunity that my company gives me to attend meetings with athletic directors, mental health counselors and other expositions in allowing to raise awareness on mental health.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc.?
One of the best podcasts that I have been involved in and enjoy listening to is called ENOUGH! It is located on buzzsprout.com, and the conversations revolve around mental health journeys.
Contact Info:
- Website: Linktr.ee/988Initiative
- Instagram: 988Initiative
- Facebook: 988 initiative
Image Credits
David arellano
