Next week, students from Moran, Iola, and Humboldt high schools will come together at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center to take part in a special presentation.
For Iolan Sharla Miller, the moment will carry a weight far deeper than a typical school assembly.
As students take their seats, she won’t just see faces in a crowd — she’ll see the son she lost, and the lives still hanging in the balance. After tragedy reshaped her world, Miller is turning grief into purpose, determined to make sure no other family knows the silence her son, Matt, carried.
Six years ago, Miller’s son took his life. He was bright, kind, and well-liked — the kind of young man who seemed to have everything together. He was even a homecoming candidate. On the outside, he looked strong. On the inside, he was struggling.
“This is a program that’s going to hopefully help the Matt Millers of the world who on the outside didn’t look like they needed anything,” Miller said, her voice breaking with equal parts grief and determination. “Kids who are under pressure to appear perfect — when really, they don’t have it all together. This is about taking the stigma away so they can reach out before something happens.”
Miller has spent the last several months working to bring “Zero Reasons Why,” a teen-led mental health education and suicide prevention campaign, into Allen County schools. Already proven successful in Johnson, Sedgwick, and Ford counties, a preview of the program will be Sept. 8-9 with assemblies at the Bowlus for students from high schools across the county.
Moran students will hear the presentation from 9 to 11 a.m., Monday, while Humboldt students will follow from 1 to 3 p.m. Iola students will split into two sessions on Tuesday — 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. (8th to 10th grades) and 1 to 3 p.m. (11th-12th grades).
ACCORDING TO the recent data, suicide is the second leading cause of death for Kansas teens and young adults aged 15-24. The five-year total of youth suicide deaths in Kansas rose from 271 between 2001–2005 to 442 between 2016–2020. The state also experienced the 10th highest youth suicide rate in the nation in between 2016 and 2020.
But behind every number is a name, a story, and a family forever changed.
After her son’s suicide, Miller founded 13 Reasons To Fly SEK, a nonprofit focused on breaking the stigma around mental health through education and shared stories.
“‘Zero Reasons Why’ shares that same mission. In fact, they began their campaign just a year before Matt passed,” Miller said.
“Zero Reasons Why” is a grassroots campaign where students drive the conversation.
“It’s a proactive campaign designed to complement the existing services by creating a student-led movement that fosters connection, support, and mental health awareness,” Miller explained. “It’s not to replace anything. It’s just to complement and collaborate with what’s already there.”
The program’s core is storytelling, peer leadership, and community engagement. Students share their experiences, challenge harmful myths about mental health, and create a culture where it’s safe to say, “I’m not okay.”
“SEK Mental Health and school therapists do amazing work when kids are already in crisis,” Miller said. “But this is about reaching the kids before they get there. It’s an additional tool.”
At next week’s assemblies, teens from Johnson County already active in “Zero Reasons Why” will share their stories alongside local counselors, school therapists, and SEKMHC staff. The sessions will end with a panel discussion, giving students the chance to ask questions and imagine what the campaign could look like in their schools.
