MAUMELLE, Ark. – You never know when the person closest to you will take their last breath, and for one Maumelle family that reality hit home for them too soon.
On March 9, 2023, 15-year-old Derek Stiles died after committing suicide.
“He had been struggling with mental health for pretty much all of his life with severe anxiety some depression,” Derek’s mother Stephanie said. “I actually got a call from a therapist that could see him the day that we lost him.”
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In honor of him his family has created cards called Derek’s Random Acts of Kindness .
“Putting a face and a name to it helps make a difference, and I kind of a challenge to pass it on,” Stephanie said. “You may be having a bad day but here let me help you, but then when you are doing better pass it on to someone else who’s not.”
“We heard so many stories of things he had done for people that we didn’t know,” Stephanie said.
“We don’t want to forget him,” Derek’s father Kipp said. “He’s still apart of our lives.”