Conversations Matter with Brad Hunstable

05/10/22 • 47 min

Brad Hunstable, CEO of electric motor company Linear Labs in Fort Worth and an Army veteran, understands firsthand the complexities that grieving families face after losing a child to suicide. Nothing prepared him for April 17, 2020, the day a figurative “nuclear bomb” went off in his world, altering it forever. Hunstable had just finished a call when his daughter, then 8, ran to him, telling him something was wrong with her big brother Hayden. The 12-year-old had been playing his favorite video game Fortnite in his bedroom while his dad worked from home. Hunstable rushed upstairs to his son’s bedroom and found Hayden in the closet, unresponsive. He called 911 and tried unsuccessfully to revive him. Hayden—described as a fun-loving, active boy who enjoyed playing sports and loved life––died by suicide four days shy of his 13th birthday. Over the past two years, Hunstable has been on a mission to prevent the same tragedy from hitting other families. Through his non-profit, Hayden’s Corner, Hunstable spreads the message #ConversationsMatter, encouraging parents to talk to their kids about suicide. He and his wife also produced the award-winning documentary Almost Thirteen to raise awareness of Hayden’s story. On this episode of Raising Joy, Hunstable candidly shares what he has learned since Hayden’s death and what he hopes other parents can learn from his experience. Raising Joy is part of Cook Children’s Health Care System’s Joy Campaign, a communications initiative aimed at preventing youth suicides. For more information about the Joy Campaign, visit cookchildrens.org/joy.

Previous Episode

Helping Children through Grief with Dana Minor from The WARM Place

Dana Minor M.S., LPC‐S, CSC, has more than 25 years of experience helping children through grief. She is the program director of The WARM Place, a non-profit that provides free grief support services to children and teens in Fort Worth, Texas. On this episode, we talk to Dana about helping children understand death and debunk some of the myths about grief. You can learn more about The WARM Place at www.thewarmplace.org Raising Joy is part of Cook Children’s Health Care System’s Joy Campaign, a communications initiative aimed at preventing youth suicides. For more information about the Joy Campaign, visit cookchildrens.org/joy.

Next Episode

Utilizing Pediatricians to Address the Youth Mental Health Crisis with Anu Partap, M.D., M.P.H

Anu Partap, M.D., M.H.P. is the physician director of Health Equity at Cook Children’s. Dr. Partap has been a pediatrician for more than 20 years and has extensive experience in the realms of public health, mental health, family violence, child abuse, foster care and adverse childhood experiences. She recently spearheaded an effort to bring the REACH Institute to Cook Children’s to help empower pediatricians to address mental health concerns with their patients. On this episode of Raising Joy, we talk to Dr. Partap about the important role pediatricians play in addressing the youth mental health crisis. She also explains what social determinants of health are, as well as how discrimination and racism impact the mental and physical health of children and teens. Raising Joy is part of Cook Children’s Health Care System’s Joy Campaign, a communications initiative aimed at preventing youth suicides. For more information about the Joy Campaign, visit cookchildrens.org/joy.