SPOKANE, Wash. -- Basketball Backboards aren't usually messages of hope. But this weekend there is at least one that will be. That message is from the Erickson Family, who lost hope for a time after their son died by suicide. 
 
Kellen Erickson took his like at the age of 19 in 2020. His mother Kimber Erickson described the experience as "excruciating."
 
Now, Kimber Erickson is on a journey she says to, "bring awareness that boys may be struggling but they're probably not talking about it."
 
For Erickson this journey started when she lost her son, "I just tried to find all the answers and I couldn't find the answers"
 
She described her son Kellen as compassionate, kind and attentive but when she saw a shift in his Junior year she was concerned, "it's the worst possible thing for a parent and a family to go through," said Erickson. 
 
Kellen's death sparked Kimber to set out on her mission. She knew she needed to do something to help prevent other families from experiencing this hell, "we knew right away, that we wanted to do something just out of frustration, and heart break on our part we just don't want to see that happen to anybody else," said Erickson.
 
Their foundation Kellan Cares Mission is to educate, advocate and eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness. This weekend Kellen Cares will be sponsoring a court at Hoopfest and Erickson has one goal in mind, "we're hoping they see the the sign and they look at our website. Our website was a project we wanted to create a roadmap for parents and families were able to look at the resources that we couldn't find when we were looking."
 
For more information on Kellen Cares click here. 

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