On this week’s Mom to Mom, Local 10’s Nicole Perez sat down with a South Florida mother who had a tragic experience and is making an effort to ensure the same thing does not happen to others.
Kristi Roberts, founder of Behind the Smiles: The Darius Roberts Foundation, lost her son to suicide. She created the foundation to honor his memory and help others who are struggling.
“It’s okay not to be okay. It’s okay to talk to someone. You never knew that he was struggling with anything so if you look at pictures, you’ll always see Darius smiling and that’s where behind the smiles came from,” said Kristi Roberts.
Darius Roberts was her 27-year-old son.
“He was very artistic. He would love to do music. He liked to draw. So, he was very into the arts and then he went away to college,” said Kristi Roberts.
Roberts said that’s when she saw that he took a turn.
“In college, he started having depression. He was actually Baker Acted, and so I had to go and get him from college and bring him back home,” said Kristi Roberts.
Kristi said he was sleeping every day and his depression deepened, but nothing seemed to work.
“No matter what I said, no matter what I did, it was nothing I could do to kind of like get him to be happy and, you know, try to, you know, make him want to stay,” said Kristi Roberts.
She told Nicole she chose to Baker Act her son a second time.
“And after that, he came home and then it was a couple weeks after that he died by suicide. So, I feel like maybe he’s at peace because mentally, wherever he was struggling,” said Kristi Roberts.
After his son’s passing, Kristi created the organization because she felt like she needed to do more.
“I wanted to keep his legacy alive and help others that were young adults similar to him that might be struggling, suffering in silence and I wanted to be able to help him through him,’ said Kristi Roberts.
Kristi told Nicole there is not a day that goes by that she doesn’t think of her son. She kept the small piece of paper with an apology that he left behind.
Kristi said Behind the Smiles was born after a loss and strives to help others in similar situations.
The organization will gift therapy to two young adults between the ages of 18 to 30 every year.
Kristi wants the organization to be the light in contrast to the dark on social media.
“I want them to go before they get into a crisis mode. Before they get to that point where they feel like there’s nothing they can do. Because there are people out here that want to help them, that want to listen.
For more information about the Behind the Smiles Foundation and or how to apply for the sessions, click on this link.
For those facing mental health challenges or coping with suicide loss, help is available. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides 24/7 support, along with 211 in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
To highlight a mom who makes a difference in our community, send us an email at MomToMom@wplg.com.
For more Mom to Mom stories, click on this link.