Eliminating the stigma around mental health in young adults.
Founded in 2013, the BDS Memorial Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing mental health awareness in young adults and partnering with other organizations of similar goals and values.
Ideals that drive meaningful change.
Identification.
Trying to tell the difference between what expected behaviors are and what might be the signs of a mental illness isn't always easy. There's no easy test that can let someone know if there is mental illness or if actions and thoughts might be typical behaviors of a person or the result of a physical illness.
Awareness.
The more you know, the more power you have. This power can cause a positive effect in our community. Awareness is key for understanding what mental health is and how families can receive the help they need. Public knowledge is important in accessing community resources.
Support.
One of the hardest and most important steps may be just starting the conversation. You do not have to be an expert or to have the answers. Express your concern and willingness to listen and be there for the person. Don't be afraid to talk about it. Reassure them that you care about them and are there for them.
Our Story
In December of 2013, less than a year after graduation from the University of Illinois, our friend and fraternity brother Bradley David Stock passed away unexpectedly following a silent battle with mental health and depression. This came as a shock and devastating loss to our college community, as we struggled to process how someone who brought so much joy to our lives could be taken by something we knew so little about and never detected.
This life-changing event opened our eyes to the often stigmatized realities of mental health, causing young adults such as Brad to suffer in silence. In an effort to remember our friend, we formed the BDS Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship was created to honor Brad’s memory and award members of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, Kappa Kappa chapter that exemplified the characteristics that made Brad such a great brother, scholar and friend.
In 2019, after several successful rounds of scholarship awards to deserving Sigma Chi fraternity members, the BDS Memorial Foundation shifted its focus with the goal of expanding and having a greater impact on mental health in young adults. We learned that given the challenges of an increasingly complex social, educational and professional worlds, young adults represent one of the highest risk age demographic for Serious Mental Illness. Moving forward, it is the BDS Memorial Foundation’s goal to utilize our resources to positively impact this group in the greatest way possible.
