Local 22-year-old suicide victim prompts suicide awareness for community

The tragic passing of 22-year-old Trey Hunter in Rochester on Aug. 24, 2024 has promoted suicide awareness and prevention in the community. His wife, Rayvenn Hunter, hopes to spread the word of hope and healing to those thinking of committing suicide.

Suicide, a preventable, yet reoccurring cause of death in the area that often goes unspoken about. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide ranks as the 11th leading cause of death in the state of Indiana, and remains the second leading cause of death for Hoosiers between the ages of 10 and 34.

1,136 people died by suicide in 2022 in Indiana, with 2,558 additional Hoosiers dying by overdose that same year. As Indiana's suicide rate continues to climb, according to the 2023 Indiana Health, Drug, and Overdose Dashboard, generally speaking the rural counties in the state tended to have higher rates due to less prevention and harm reduction programs in the community. 

The tragic passing of 22-year-old Trey Hunter in Rochester on Aug. 24, 2024 has promoted suicide awareness and prevention in the community. His wife, Rayvenn Hunter, hopes to spread the word of hope and healing to those thinking of committing suicide, in hopes of saving another family in the community from having to go through the heartache she is currently going through.

Rayvenn said Trey had always been a kind soul, and a loving father to their two small children. Trey had been a graduate in the Class of 2020 at North Miami High School. Having a passion for music and knowing how to play essentially any instrument, Trey had a love for band, choir, robotics, soccer, basketball and football during his life. Rather than it being a selfish act, Rayvenn says the suicide was shocking, but something that came after a lifetime of being bullied and suffering from mental health issues. While Trey had attended therapy for a number of months, reaching out for help was emasculating for Trey, but was something Rayvenn wishes he would have done before it was too late. 

Rayvenn had been a stay-at-home mother, with Trey paying the bills until last week's tragedy. Now left a single mother scrambling to get back on her feet and care for her two small children under the age of three, a GoFundMe has been started to help. 

In 2017, the Indiana General Assembly passed the House Enrolled Act 1430, hiring a statewide suicide prevention director for the state to address mental health and addiction. The Division of Mental Health and Addiction has since been provided with more than $1 million from the Mental Health Block Grant to enable the strengthening of existing expanding networks in Indiana communities by providing suicide prevention thorough programs like the Indiana Suicide Prevention Network, the ISPN Advisory Council, the Indiana Suicide Prevention Network, and more. 

Locally, places like the Recovery Cafe Fulton County, 715 Main St. in Rochester, serves as a place those seeking support for mental health during a time of crisis, eliminating the shame and burden, and getting the help they need before it's too late. 

Recovery Cafe Executive Director Pat Brown says the cafe is not only a place locals can go to for mental health issues, like a suicide crisis, but also for other issues as well, including grieving and substance abuse issues. Recovery Cafe keeps its doors open to anyone seeking help, with reassurance to not be shamed about their crisis. Over the past few years the cafe has been open, one thing Brown has noticed is that women are more likely to seek help for issues than men. He hopes to change that trend in the future. 

Brown says the goal of starting the Recovery Cafe in the first place was to get to know those in the community looking for a safe place, and resources to help them. 

Experienced in QPR (question, persuade and referring) training, those seeking help to proper resources is a three-step process Brown and other members at the Recovery Cafe specialize in. Some signs of concern in those he's helped in the past include appearing distraught and using phrases such as "everyone will be better without me,'' and ''this may be my last meal,'' during community dinners. Over the years, Brown has dealt with several suicide interventions, saving multiple lives. 

One of those survivors from the Recovery Cafe include longtime cafe attendee Louise Grillo. Grillo says her struggle with suicide ideation has been something she has dealt with her whole life, but being a part of the Recovery Cafe has saved her multiple times, and stopped her from using self-harm as a way to cope. Grillo has attended the Recovery Cafe for the past several years, even being employed by them for some time in the kitchen. Encouraging those who struggled with suicide ideation and shame as she did in her past to reach out for help, she said mental health issues don't just go away and are something she has to continue seeking help for in order to overcome the hardships of her past. 

For those wanting to check out the services of Fulton County Recovery Cafe, it is open 6-8 p.m on Tuesdays; 4-7 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays; and 10-5 p.m. on Fridays. They will also have a table set up at the Nickel Plate Music and Arts Festival for anyone interested in learning more about its services.