Former NFL quarterback to headline Mental Health Month event at YSU

By WILLIAM K. ALCORN

alcorn@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Eric Hipple, former Detroit Lions quarterback, whose son committed suicide at 15, will speak here during May, National Mental Health Month, on how to live and enjoy life after depression and loss.

Hipple, author of “Real Men Do Cry,” is the featured speaker at a May 28 program from 8 a.m. to noon at Youngstown State University’s Chestnut Room.

The former football TV analyst’s public-speaking work shifted to raising awareness of depressive-disorder awareness and treatment and suicide prevention in 2000 after the death of his son.

Hipple also helps communities become more educated about how depression affects men and those around them, local mental-health officials said.

Saturday is the registration deadline for the Hipple event. The cost is $15 per person and includes breakfast at 8 a.m. Hipple is scheduled to speak at 9:15 a.m.

The May 28 event is one of several planned for May that are designed to draw attention to mental-health services and challenges in the community, said Ronald A. Marian, executive director of the Mahoning County Mental Health Board.