The Jason Foundation

a href=”http://www.jasonfoundation.com/home.html”The Jason Foundation /ais a private charity dedicated to educating the public on youth and suicide. a href=”http://www.jasonfoundation.com/fulmer_golf.html”Phil Fulmer/a, our football coach at the University of Tennessee, became involved with the foundation after the death of Jason Flatt, a young athlete:br /br /blockquoteJason Flatt: 3/20/81 – 7/16/97br /In 1997, The Jason Foundation was founded in response to a family and friends loss of Jason Flatt – Age 16 – to the tragedy of youth suicide. JFI’s mission is to provide information, tools, and resources to confront the “silent epidemic” and prevent the tragedy of youth suicide./blockquotebr /br /Jason’s father found him the day he killed himself:br /br /blockquoteJason was my youngest son. He was an average 16-year old. He got mostly B’s on his report card, and he loved sports. Especially football. He was active in a youth group and he had a lot of friends. Jason was the one who was always up for going places and trying new things. From all appearances…my son loved life.br /br /But on July 16, 1997, he placed a .38 caliber pistol to his head and pulled the trigger. I was the one who opened the door to his room and stumbled over his body. Believe me when I say, there are no words to describe that kind of pain./blockquotebr /br /I helped with a news segment on Volunteer TV in Knoxville which aired tonight to help the Knoxville area become more aware of youth suicide–I wish they would have mentioned more about the high rate of boy’s suicides but at least they are pushing the idea that youth suicide is a concern. Here is a a href=”http://www.volunteertv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4503355nav=menu185_4″short print version /aof the segment.br /br /Update: Video of this segment on teen suicide is now up. a href=”http://www.volunteertv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4503355nav=menu185_4″Click here /aand then again to the left where you see a red camera icon.