Helping my daughter

Youth suicide happened to our family Kim Manning and this is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do it write. On 11/15/2020 my 17 year old daughter Kanasha tragically took her life. Kanasha was a smart, beautiful, feisty 17 year old who loved her family, her friends, and Grand Rapids (hometown). We recently located to Rockford, Illinois in hopes of a fresh start. However, Kanasha struggled to find her place in Rockford and missed her hometown greatly. Kanasha secretly struggled with mental illness. I want to share Kanasha’s story so we can talk about something very real but often overlooked in the black community: mental health and depression. Our Black children are more likely to experience mental health crisis but are less likely to see treatment. A study has shown that suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death in Black adolescents age 14-19. This has to stop. Kanasha’s life mattered and it meant something. It still does. Please monitor your children for symptoms of mental illness. If you or your child is struggling, know you are both alone. Help is out there. Please visit this this webpage for resources on mental health both for youth and adults. I’m creating this GoFundMe to cover funeral expenses, abs also to help us move forward with our other children. Kanasha’s siblings loved her very much and will need a-lot of support to get through this together. It is hard for us being in a new city with limited support in a pandemic. If you aren’t able to give at this time, consider sharing our story. We know it’s a hard time for everybody so we thank you so much in advance for any support for our family. You can also give donations to my cashapp: $kimfreemyson