DENVER — Students who walked out of Cherry Creek High School five years ago to protest what they saw as glossing over a classmate’s suicide are still working to share their message that youth can remake the culture around mental health.

Jack Padilla, 15, died by suicide in March 2019. In response, some of his classmates and his older brother launched a group they called Jackstrong to push for more open discussion of mental health. Four leading members met Monday to discuss their ongoing work with The Denver Post.

The group started meeting to brainstorm shortly after Jack’s death, said Gio Villagrana, 20, who now attends Metropolitan State University Denver. They initially focused on events to draw attention to the problem, including the school walkout and a Colorado Avalanche game dedicated to Jack, he said.

Since then, all have graduated and either gone to college or started their careers. They’ve also testified in favor of mental health bills, including, most recently, one that created a mental health screening program for students in sixth through 12th grade.

But the core of their work is still focused on helping youth to help each other, said John Padilla, 25, who is Jack’s older brother and now lives in Montana.

“I think the political landscape and the social landscape were very different in 2019,” he said.

Rick Padilla, father of John and Jack, said the group has honored Jack’s life. He also got involved in mental health, switching careers to work as a suicide prevention administrator for the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment after Jack’s death.

“We all want to be remembered, and these kids have helped keep Jack’s memory alive,” he said.

The most recent data on youth mental health, from 2023, showed fewer young people reported possible depression or suicidal thoughts than at any point since 2013. The Healthy Kids Colorado survey found about 11% of youth had considered suicide in the previous year, 9% had made a plan and 6% had made an attempt.

Villagrana said he isn’t sure whether youth mental health has actually improved since Jack died: Young people have even more to worry about now than they did then, but they also feel more open talking about their struggles. Adults also are changing their views — his mother recently talked about whether a family member would benefit from therapy, which is something she never would have considered a few years ago, Villagrana said.

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