BOSTON -- In the 21st century, the Red Sox have taken great pride in their reputation as pillars of the community.
Whether it is the tireless work in conjunction with the Jimmy Fund to raise money for cancer or the compassion and support created by the team’s Home Base Program that has assisted many veterans impacted by PTSD, the Sox are always leveraging their platform for the greater good.
But part of that process for an organization like the Red Sox is to constantly evolve and expand.
And Boston’s baseball team came up with a new initiative this past season to support those who are struggling with mental health.
In May, after several months of research, the community relations staff unveiled Changeup the Conversation, a structured program that allowed the team to be intentional with its work surrounding mental health awareness.
It is an issue that is thankfully losing its stigma, and that is only aided when organizations like the Red Sox become involved in the worthy and potentially life-saving cause.
The timing of the program’s launch couldn’t have been better, in that it occurred just weeks after Jarren Duran’s startling revelation on a Netflix documentary in which the outfielder revealed that he attempted suicide in 2022.
Each month during the season, the Sox spotlighted a New England-based mental health nonprofit organization through in-park experiences and social media story telling focused on a particular theme such as mental health in sports, stress management or suicide prevention.
That led to a crossover with Justin Long, a long-time Sox public relations staffer who left the club in January to become senior writer and media relations manager for Samaritans.
“We were thrilled to be part of Changeup the Conversation,” said Long. “For us, having open, honest conversations about mental health is so important and so we appreciate the Red Sox for not just highlighting mental health support for that one day we were there but for making it a season-long initiative and highlighting a lot of the impactful work that a lot of organizations are doing year-round.
“There are a lot of life-saving services that are available to people who are struggling, and support groups for people who have lost someone to suicide or have attempted to take their own life, and it’s because of the Red Sox platform that we were able to share those resources with a larger audience and that could potentially save lives. It really does make a big difference.”
Long has an all-too-personal history with mental health struggles. As a high school student, he tried to take his own life.
“One thing that I wanted to highlight is my story in particular,” said Long, “We’ve seen the impact that professional athletes and teams can have on raising awareness for suicide prevention and mental health support. I tried to take my own life when I was in high school, partly because I felt so alone and I felt like I was the only person struggling. If I had seen a Red Sox player share their story, I can only imagine what that would have done for me at such an impressionable age and I think knowing that one of my idols was struggling and wasn’t afraid to talk about it would have helped me tremendously.
“We saw that back in April after the Netflix documentary was released. There was an uptick in the number of calls to 988 and the number of texts to Hey Sam. The Red Sox, they just can have such an impact when it comes to raising awareness and kind of sharing these resources for people.”
KyleCares was the first organization to be recognized at Fenway with the launch of the program in May, which is mental health awareness month. That program is led by Jim Johnson, whose 19-year-old son Kyle committed suicide at the age of 19 in 2018.
Despite the unspeakable tragedy, Johnson and his foundation have doubled down in their efforts to help people with struggles like the ones Kyle had.
“Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people between the ages of 15 and 24 so we focus on working with just high schools and colleges and trying to help bring programming into those schools to help the administrators and students support the mental well-being of all the students in the building,” said Johnson. “If we can do that, then that will help reduce the number of kids who might be struggling with suicidal thoughts and attempts and so forth, and or harming themselves. So that's the ultimate goal.”
And how do the Red Sox help their ultimate goal even more?
“First of all, we're small, right? We've been around for six and a half years but we’re small, and our platform obviously doesn't reach as far and wide as the Red Sox do,” Johnson said. “So when the Sox use their platform to shine a light on what has become a national issue, I think that's huge, and it speaks volumes about the Red Sox organization, the fact that they care about mental health for their own players, but also specifically for [our foundation] and teen mental health.”
And the impact of what Duran did coming forward on Netflix cannot be overstated.
“When someone like Jarren is courageous enough to talk about some of the stuff he's struggling with and he's vulnerable, and he talks about how he takes medication or he sees a therapist and he sees the importance of prioritizing wellness and self care,” said Johnson, “That helps younger people realize, ‘Hey, I'm not alone. Maybe I'm not as different as everyone thinks I am’. And if a professional athlete is willing to talk about it and seek help, then why shouldn't I?”’
The other organizations that Changeup the Conversation teamed with this past season were as follows:
- Active Minds - Mobilizes young adults to speak openly about mental health and create communities of support on campuses and in schools nationwide.
- Doc Wayne - A therapy provider that uses sports and play to support mental health, offering group and individual sessions for kids and adults, as well as training for caregivers and professionals.
- OUT MetroWest - Builds supportive communities for LGBTQ+ youth through programs that connect them with peers and affirming adult role models.
- The Jed Foundation a nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for teens and young adults.
Aside from Changeup the Conversation, the Sox also partnered with a person of global influence in singer Noah Kahan, whose Busyhead Project is one of the leading foundations in the area for mental health.
Kahan’s inaugural Nov. 20 benefit concert in conjunction with the Red Sox Foundation at MGM Music Hall adjacent to Fenway Park grossed over $2 million, with all net proceeds being shared between The Busyhead Project and The Red Sox Foundation.
“Change doesn't happen overnight, but when you get small organizations like ours teaming up with the Red Sox, and we have a really great partnership with the Patriots, when big, influential organizations like that step up to start shining a light on this issue, it really helps create movement,” said Johnson. “And it gets young people and even adults to start stepping back and really saying, ‘Hey, this is an issue. What can we do to help?”