Turning tragedy into hope: Hilinski family fights stigma around mental health in student athletes
KIMA TV
A family in our state is turning tragedy into a beam of hope for the Yakima community.
The Hilinski family is hoping the tragic ending of Tyler's story can be the beginning of someone else's.
"We don't want to lose another Tyler," said Kym Hilinski, mother of Tyler Hilinski. "We don't want another student athlete or student to struggle and be afraid or embarrassed to reach out and ask for help or to go through what Tyler must have been struggling with."
Five years ago, Mark and Kym received the worst phone call any parent could get.
On Jan. 16, 2018 an unsaved number filled their phone screen and when they picked up it was from a coach at Washington State University that they didn't even know.
"He told us that Tyler was missing [and] that he missed practice," said Mark Hilinski, dad of Tyler Hilinski. "They went to his apartment, they knocked [and] he wasn't there and that they filed a missing person's report."
Only Tyler wasn't missing, later his parents would find out he committed suicide with a gun.
"We had no idea that Tyler was struggling, so to find out that he passed by suicide, there really are no words to describe how distraught and how confused and how lost we were and really we're still the same," said Kym Hilinski.
Described as a kind and loving person, the comeback kid or the happiest guy in the room, Tyler never showed any signs of deep internal pain on or off the field.
And for many student athletes it's a similar story.
"In their mind if they reach out for help and they share that they're struggling mentally they may see that as a weakness and they're just absolutely wrong," said Kym Hilinski.
But through such tragedy, Hilinski's Hope was born.
It's Mark and Kym's way to keep Tyler's name alive and to give hope to the hopeless.
"What is hope to you guys," said Khirstia Sheffield, reporter with KIMA.
"I think hope is being able to wake up the next day and see a sunrise and go out and seize the day," said Kym Hilinski.
So far the two have visited over 170 universities across the country.
There they share their personal journeys with a main goal in mind, to eliminate the stigma attached to mental health and to scale mental-wellness programs for student athletes.
"We think there's a Tyler in every audience," said Mark Hilinski. "And if somebody had done this when Tyler was in school, would that have been enough?"
Yesterday the Hilinski's visited Central Washington University to speak to athletes and they also presented at the Yakima Rotary today.
Long-term Hilinski's Hope wants to expand beyond athletes to every student.
