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Hope for Depression Research Foundation
Honors Mental Health Awareness Month with
Inaugural NYC Teen Race of Hope
The Teen Race of Hope Draws Over 275 to Hudson River Park to
Raise Mental Health Awareness and Funds for Research
(Manhattan, NY –
May 24, 2023) – The Hope for Depression Research
Foundation’s (HDRF) inaugural Teen Race of Hope united more
than 275 teenagers and their family members, friends, and
teachers on Sunday, May 21st at
Pier 40, Hudson River Park. The goal of the event was to
raise awareness about the crisis in youth mental health in
the U.S. and fight the stigma that still surrounds mental
health.
The Co-Grand
Marshals for the Race were Grier
Henchy, the 16-year-old daughter of Brooke Shields, and Hayden
Lucas, who was one of the creators of the event. Grier
is following in her mother’s advocacy footsteps, as Brooke
Shields herself was honored by HDRF with the Hope Award for
Depression Advocacy in 2009.
Soul Cycle’s Stacey
Griffith, mental
health advocate and social media influencer, spun
her signature playlist as DJ for the race. The music
reinforced the energy of the crowd as they waited for the
Race to begin against the backdrop of New York Harbor,
downtown Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.
Grier Henchy said: “Today
is all about the message of hope and how we can make it safe
to talk about mental health. It’s really important for
every teen to know it is okay to not be okay - and to reach
out for help.”
Hayden Lucas, who
also served as the Chief Student Ambassador for the Race, is
a junior at Dwight High School. He came to HDRF with the
idea of a Teen Race after he had run in a recent Race of
Hope in Southampton, NY.
Lucas said: “HDRF
has supported the idea of the Teen Race from the beginning.
Thanks to them we are able to run here today to spread
awareness and work towards ending the stigma about mental
health.”
The state of teen
mental health across the nation is urgent. Last year the
surgeon general declared a national emergency in teen mental
health. More than one in three high school students reports
feeling persistent hopelessness, a 40% increase since 2009.
Suicide has become the second leading cause of death for
teens ages 15 to 19.
“These staggering
statistics underscore the vital importance of uniting New
York’s school communities to better understand the signs of
depression and how to talk to teens about it,” said HDRF
Executive Director Louisa Benton in opening remarks before
the Race.
HDRF Founding Chair Audrey
Gruss also took
the podium before the Race to acknowledge the teens for
their energy and activism on the anti-stigma front.
Gruss said: “The
Teen Race of Hope is primed to even be bigger than our Race
of Hope and this is because young people know how to make
change. All of you, the young people in our community, are
going to be the ones who can make a real difference. That is
why this race is so important and that is why it’s going to
be the most talked about event in New York.”
The Teen Race of
Hope is a 5K (3.1 mile) U.S. Track and Field-certified
race. At the starting gun, participants set off to complete
the 3.1-mile course starting at Pier
40 Hudson River Park and continuing along the esplanade with beautiful
views of the Hudson River. Everyone sported HDRF’s
signature sunshine yellow color with matching caps and
t-shirts.
The event, which raised $35,000, marked
HDRF’s first Race of Hope in New York City and the first one
to be youth focused. HDRF also has held an annual Race of
Hope in Palm Beach, FL and Southampton, NY.
At the close of
the Race, Audrey Gruss presented awards to the top finishers
and to the top fundraisers. First prize for Best Male Time
went to James
Knox, and first prize for the Best Female Time went to his
mother, Sarah
Knox. The award for Top Fundraising Team went to the Dwight
School team. The award
for Best Costume went to the Sunshine
Girls, who wore matching yellow outfits with flower
sunglasses.
Second place for
Best Male Time went to Cesar
Hernandez and
second place for
the Best Female Time went to Luisa
Cavalli, third place for Best Male Time went to Isaac
Jeffrey, and third
place for the Best Female Time went to Dawn
Brewer.
All Race
participants received a signature yellow shirt, cap and
finisher medal. The first, second, and third place winners
received medals based on the winnings. The costume contest
that was held during the race encouraged all participants
and supporters to show up in their best yellow ensemble,
with the winner Sunshine Girls taking home a $100 bank
card.
The Teen Race of
Hope was
supported by local
student teen ambassadors including Hayden
Lucas, Chief Student Ambassador, Mia Abramson, Marni Arons,
Alva Carlston, Hannah Diker, Sophie Higgins, Abigail Kidd,
Tanner Klipstein, Ruby McKillips, Jeremy Negrin, Summer
Nelson, Sophia Rossi, Noelle Saldana, Gui Sequiera , Ai Vy
Shulman, Andrew Wetenhall, Amelia
Wetenhall.
HDRF has been a
leader in research since 2006, convening top brain
researchers from different universities to pool data and
expertise to find new and better treatments for anxiety and
depression. HDRF also works to raise
awareness of depression as a medical illness and to educate
the public about the facts of depression and remove the
stigma that still surrounds it.
ABOUT HOPE
FOR DEPRESSION RESEARCH FOUNDATION (HDRF)
HDRF was founded
in 2006 by philanthropist Audrey Gruss in memory of her
mother Hope, who struggled with clinical depression. Today,
HDRF is the leading nonprofit organization focused solely on
advanced depression research into new and better treatments
for the illness. The World Health Organization has declared
depression as the leading cause of disability worldwide, and
yet conventional medications today are outdated and do not
fully work for 50% of patients. The mission of the HDRF is
to spur innovative neuroscience research into the origins,
medical diagnosis, new treatments, and prevention of
depression and its related mood disorders - bipolar
disorder, postpartum depression, post-traumatic stress
disorder, anxiety disorder, and suicide. To date, HDRF has
provided more than $50 million through over 200 grants for
breakthrough depression research that promises to transform
the way depression is viewed, diagnosed, treated and
prevented. Currently, HDRF has a potential new class of
medication in pilot clinical trials at Mount Sinai Medical
Center, Columbia University, and Stanford University. HDRF
is also funding clinical trials into other novel
therapeutics and diagnostic tests at Johns Hopkins,
University of San Diego, and the Center for Healthy Minds at
the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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