While it’s become socially acceptable to support gays and lesbians, it’s not always a comfortable conversation around the dinner table. Alvaro Mejia understands firsthand how his expectations for his son changed in one short conversation.
“Dad, I’m gay,” Danny Mejia told his father. For his honesty, Danny was thrown out of the house and told never to return.
“My son tried to commit suicide because of my words. My actions,” Mejia recalls. Heartbroken by the recollection, Mejia continues, “I didn’t know. I didn’t understand that Danny’s sexuality was not one of choice.”
Today, Mejia is on a mission to support parents experiencing what he had.
“I was lucky. Danny didn’t die by suicide. But he could have.”
According to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, suicide is the second leading cause of teenage death. When young people face an overwhelming sense of emotion, such as sadness or confusion, self-doubt or uncertainty, they feel suicide may be their only solution. It’s not.
Mejia advocates that parents make an effort to listen with empathy and understanding. Help their child seek professional help.
“And,” he adds, “be patient. While there may be an uncomfortable silence around the dinner table, it’s better than having an empty chair where a child should be sitting.”
It took three years for Danny to break through his father’s defenses and educate Mejia on what it means to be a gay man.
A few short years later, Danny was diagnosed with a brief illness that took his young life. “It was time I could never get back,” Mejia says regretfully. “If I knew our time together would not continue forever, I would have made different decisions. I don’t want anyone else to suffer as I do now.”
Recently, Mejia launched a business that aims to spread the message of reconciliation, hope, and love. Speaking in front of small and large crowds, Mejia is determined to stop teenage suicide.
It may have taken three years, but Mejia gets it. He hopes others will too.
Media Contact
Company Name: Al Mejia Speaks
Contact Person: Alvaro Mejia
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Phone: (813) 444-9575
Country: United States
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