CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Sean and Heather Bonner are working to end the stigma around depression and mental health issues after losing their son last year.

• Sean Bonner Jr. took his own life on November 7, 2018
• The Bonners hope hearing Sean’s story will encourage people to ask for help
• Mission 34 is a brand selling T-shirts, candles, and holding events like kickball tournaments to raise awareness about mental health

Sean Bonner Jr. was a freshman baseball player at Denison University in 2016 when his parents say he fell in his dorm room and got a concussion.

“He was afraid of losing his spot on the team or losing time from training with the baseball team but he didn’t tell anybody and it went undiagnosed,” Sean Bonner Sr. said. 

Bonner’s parents say he took an extended break his freshman year, but came back seemingly in good health.

“He was smart. He was funny. He was athletic and competitive and he had a very gentle and easy way about him and he really connected with people. He had a million friends. He was a very outgoing kid and it is the last type of person that you would think was going through, battling depression,” Sean Bonner Sr. said. 

After two years spent fighting with pain and his depression, Sean Bonner Jr. went missing. He was later found in the woods by the baseball field. He took his own life on November 7, 2018.

His family spent the weeks and months after his death learning about depression and mental health and the stigma that surrounds talking about it and feelings of shame. They later created Mission 34.

“These problems are common, but they’re not easy for people to talk about. So, that's what we want to change and that's what we hope Mission 34 will do," Sean Bonner Sr. said 

Mission 34 is a brand selling T-shirts, candles, and holding events like kickball tournaments to try and raise awareness about mental health.

Liz Shea of Liz Shea Designs sells Mission 34 candles in her store and held a Christmas pop-up shop to benefit the brand.

“It doesn’t need to be something that people are ashamed of and I think this really helps get the conversation started, and going, and continuing,” Shea said.

Once people start talking about mental health, Heather Bonner says the next step is finding the right resources.

“Follow it up with educated, really professional educators that can speak to mental illness and can teach the signs and what to do if you see those signs,” she said. 

The Bonners hope hearing Sean’s story will encourage people to ask for help. 

If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts you can reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 24 hours a day at 1-800-273-8255.