Sitting in Silence So Youth Don’t Have To
For 20 hours, I’ll be sitting in complete silence.
No speaking. No phones. No distractions.
All to raise awareness and money for mental health through the 20 hours for 20talk Challenge. But more importantly, I’m doing this for my children.
Especially for my daughter.
She’s not quite a teenager yet, but she’s on the edge of that big shift, the one we all remember. Adolescence can be exciting, yes, but it’s also overwhelming. It’s a time when pressure, confusion, and emotions can feel bigger than life itself. And for my daughter, who lives with a disability, the challenges can be even greater. Statistics show that young people with disabilities are at higher risk of experiencing mental health struggles and far too often, they’re left to navigate those struggles in silence.
That’s what I want to change.
By sitting in silence, I hope to send a louder message:
Our youth do not need to suffer in silence.
There are people to talk to. There is support. There is hope. And mental health is not something to be whispered about in shame, it’s something we need to bring into the open, especially for the next generation.
Why Silence?
Silence can be heavy. For many, it mirrors the internal world of struggling with anxiety, depression, or self-doubt. The silence of feeling like no one would understand. The silence of not knowing where to turn. The silence of stigma.
But silence can also be powerful. Reflective. Grounding.
And in this challenge, it becomes symbolic, a way to raise both funds and awareness, by physically embodying what too many people feel: alone, unheard, isolated.
I’m Doing This Because...
I want my daughter to grow up knowing her voice matters.
I want all young people to know that emotions are not weaknesses, they’re human.
I want to help normalize talking about mental health at the dinner table, in schools, among friends.
I want to support 20Talk and their work in creating space for youth to speak up, be heard, and find support.
How You Can Help
If this message resonates with you — if you’ve ever struggled, or know someone who has, I invite you to join me in supporting this cause.
✅ Donate to my fundraising page
✅ Share my fundraising page to spread the message
✅ Talk to your kids, your friends, your family. Show them silence doesn’t have to be the answer.
Let’s create a future where young people are never left to face their battles alone.
Where they know, from the start, that it’s okay to ask for help.
That they are never a burden.
And that there is always someone ready to listen.
Because I’m sitting in silence…
So they don’t have to.
