Six Feet Above

I first met Kyah when she was one of the facilitators for SaveCenla’s Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST). I’d driven about an hour to attend the training and knew no one there. I had doubts about the training, and I was nervous about addressing a sensitive topic in a group of strangers. Kyah’s passion, knowledge, and empathy immediately eased my concerns. What impressed me most was that Kyah took the courageous step of sharing her story to emphasize how important it is to ask the foundational question, “Are you thinking about suicide?”

I invited Kyah to share her story as part of my University’s Suicide Prevention Week programming. She accepted the daunting task of speaking in the Quad during a Mental Health Resource Fair. College students are notoriously uninterested, but her speech drew students to the Quad and kept them there. Students were visibly moved by her testimony, and some sat through multiple iterations. After Kyah’s speech, a student who had been sitting in the Quad before her presentation began got up and went to a table to get information. Kyah’s story is deeply personal and relatable, and it helped that student to recognize that either she needed resources or that her friends might one day need support.

Finally, what I appreciate most about Kyah is that she seesthe requisite human element in suicide prevention. She knows that mental illness doesn’t discriminate, and neither does she. She speaks directly to the needs of women of color, LGBTQ people, and the world at large for understanding, sympathy, and support when struggling with mental health. Her message is clear and simple, but resounding and universal. She reminds us that stopping and checking in can save lives. Kindness, consideration, and thoughtfulness are the first tools she reaches for in addressing the suicide epidemic, and she is spot-on. She encourages her listeners to get out of their heads and recognize the signs of despair in those around them or to reach out for help themselves. There are broader social issues to address, but it takes each individual being responsible for their neighbor to end the epidemic.

Kyah’s heart is in this work, and central Louisiana is all the better for having a passionate expert and advocate like her.

What can I say about Kyah Iles?  Kyah is one of the bravest women I’ve had the pleasure to meet in the past few years.  Her desire to help those struggling with suicidal thoughts and mental health issues is awe-inspiring!  Kyah shared her personal story at one of our recent Rotary meetings. I can speak for those in attendance that it was, without a doubt, one of the best programs we’ve ever had!  Kyah’s dedication to bringing awareness to our Central Louisiana communities, on how mental health affects us all and how we can be more aware,  shows she is a force to be reckoned with.  I would highly recommend  contacting Kyah and have her share her vision with your group, school, church, etc!

Nancy Phillips, Secretary/Treasurer | Rotary Club of Lecompte.

I couldn’t be more pleased with the suicide prevention and self-care training provided by Kyah Johnson, founder of Six Feet Above.  She was well-prepared and quite knowledgeable about suicide prevention, which I expected.  What I didn’t expect was how enthusiastically my colleagues engaged during the interactive training.  Several remarked to me that they had never enjoyed a training more....especially on such a difficult topic.  The time we spent with Kyah was invaluable.  While I knew the pandemic has been hard on many of us, the time we spent with Kyah alerted me to the need for more investment in the mental health of not only the people we serve, but the people I work with every day.  I urge employers to make the mental (and physical) well-being of employees a priority.  Training with Six Feet Above would be a great place to start.