- Amanda Gorman said, "There's always light if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we're brave enough to be it."

This episode hits very close to home.

It's the reason that we have Hope Givers.

My friend, Holden died by suicide, which began my journey as an artist and an advocate to create Hope givers.

They say you save the best for last, and this is our season finale and we're heading to San Francisco to visit one of the biggest baddest motivational speakers in the world.

(funky music) - Kevin Hines.

- Kevin Hines.

- Kevin Hines.

- Kevin Hines.

- I was saying to myself, why is this happening to me?

Why couldn't I be normal?

I'm adopted, my biological parents had both been diagnosed with manic depression what we today call bipolar disorder.

The very same disease I'd be diagnosed with at 17 and 1/2 years of age.

That diagnosis threw me for a loop.

I didn't understand it.

And most of the people around me didn't understand it.

So I felt very siloed.

I felt very alone.

And by 19, I was ready to go off the Golden Gate Bridge.

And I did attempt that way.

The millisecond my hands left that rail, instantaneous regret for my actions.

I think I'm not going to make it.

This is where I die.

No one's going to know that I knew I made a mistake.

There were some people after I attempted, that said, "Why didn't you call us?

We would have been there for you."

And I wish back then that I had the understanding of how much I was loved because I truly believed if I told anybody that I was suicidal, that they would abandon me immediately, which was the furthest thing from the truth.

We all have a voice.

It's just some of us aren't being heard.

All I wanted was for someone to see my pain and say something kind.

You don't always have to respond.

Sometimes you just need to be there.

Listening to understand and empathize, it gives them permission to speak on their pain.

And the pain shared is a pain halved.

It was that third psych ward say that I had this epiphany and this gift that came to me in the sense that I realized I had to fight for my mental wellbeing.

23 minutes of rigorous exercise.

This is 12 hours of better mood, twice a day, 24 hours.

That's how I roll.

I had to work tooth and nail every day to stabilize myself mentally.

I still have paranoid delusions, hallucinations, auditory and visual, manic highs, depressive lows, panic attacks and anxiety attacks.

And people don't get that.

They think, "Oh, he's doing fine.

He's on stage speaking."

I live with regular thoughts of ending my life.

They'll never kill me because I know how to talk about them.

If you recite and you repeat, you believe.

So, if you recite and repeat negative critical thoughts, you're going to believe those negative inner critical thoughts.

But if you recite and you repeat and you believe positive thoughts, you will eventually know that that is your truth.

I've been in pain since the day I was born on Sixth Street in the crack motel, but I've never suffered a day in my life.

Because if I admit that I'm suffering, then I become the victim of my own story and I'm no victim.

I am the hero of my story.

If you can tap that into your daily affirmation, your daily life, then you can defeat your inner critical voice by replacing it with a positive one and surviving your pain at any cost.

We made a film called "Suicide, the ripple effect".

We wanted to make it a film about suicide that talked about the topic honestly and openly.

But that had help-seeking messages within the film so that people who watched it could see themselves in it and then go ask for help when they left the theater.

Yes, it's about my story.

But more importantly, it's our story.

It's the story of every person who's ever been in that kind of pain who desperately wants to find the light at the end of the tunnel.

And that's the "Be here tomorrow" movement.

Be here tomorrow, one day at a time and every day after that.

(soft music) - [Announcer] PSA crew, positive sarcastic.

- [Child] Animation.

(soft music) (happy music) - Hello, everyone.

My name is Essynce and my self-care technique is yoga.

My junior year of high school, I was a new kid in school.

I didn't have too many friends yet, and I had a lot of free time.

So I spent that time doing yoga.

Yoga brought me peace.

It brought me some positivity.

And today I'll be showing you guys some yoga poses.

The first pose is the mountain pose, which looks a little something like this.

We're just going to put our big toes together, create some space between our ankles and have our palms facing forward.

This pose is pretty interesting because it just goes to show we're doing yoga every single day and we don't even realize it.

The next pose I will be showing you guys is a tree pose.

This is the pose a lot of people tend to think of when they think of yoga and it looks like this.

And last but not least, the final pose that definitely took some practice, took a lot of falls and trials and tribulations, it is the headstand.

And it looks a little something like this.

(soft music) Those are some yoga poses.

And thank you for watching.

- Today's youth across America, we're heading to Eatonton, Georgia.

(funky music) - I never expected to get the call.

I'm the youngest sibling on my dad's side out of five.

But before I was youngest, my older brother, Moses was.

Moses was a very artistic, sociable and outgoing person.

And if you had anything that needs to be done or something that needed to figure it out, give him a matter of time and he would have figured it out 'cause that's just the kind of person that he was.

One of my favorite memories with him was our older brother's wedding.

The reason it's my favorite is 'cause all my siblings were there and we were all happy.

We were all together.

On January 24th, 2021, I got the call say that Moses had killed himself.

In that moment, I didn't know what to feel.

And then the rush of guilt rushed over me.

The reason I felt guilty 'cause I don't remember the last thing I said to him.

And I don't remember the last time I had told him, I loved him.

All I knew was that he was gone and that I'll never be able to see my brother again.

And the time that was to come, my family, we drifted apart from each other because we knew that someone's missing, there was a void that just, we felt that needed to be filled.

I know that Moses will forever be looking down upon me and that whatever step I take, that he will be proud of me.

If anyone anyone's going through what I'm going through or who has been through what I've been through, talk to someone about what's going on with yourself and what's going on in your mind.

And if you are going through and you feel alone, don't be afraid to reach out to your family members.

There's always someone there to help you.

- Wow, Kevin's story is, I mean, it's got everything in it.

You know, when you say the word suicide, it's like it's scary, and suicidality.

But really when you break it down, it's somebody saying I'm in pain and I don't feel heard.

I don't feel like there's a way out.

All of us go through difficult times.

I mean, anybody could reach a state where they're like, "Man, I'm really confused about what I'm doing with my life."

And we're all in need of help.

Every one of us, every one of us needs to talk to somebody at some point in time.

And to have a trusting supportive network around us is important.

So for any teachers out there, any parents, any educators, one, is you need a supportive network.

You as the parent, as the teacher, as the educator.

Because you're not superman and superwoman, none of us are.

Then you need to have the skills and the abilities to be able to empathize and be a supportive person for your students and your kids.

And then you need to be able to triage, that's our medical word that essentially means, know when to bring in the professionals.

And don't try to take it all on yourself.

There's a skill called active listening.

So an example, you're talking to a student, the student has some kind of challenge they're bringing up.

It takes you by surprise.

So you're thinking, "Oh my God, what am I gonna do about this?

Oh my God.

Oh my God.

Oh my God."

All that inner dialogue, that inner monologue is taking you away from connecting, empathizing and being supportive of the person in front of you.

Active listening is when you shut this down and you're just there for that individual.

And whatever neuroticism you have, you can deal with later.

But right now, it's what's in front of you.

And so active listening is an incredibly important skill that you need as a teacher, as an educator and as a parent, because it lets the other person know you're in.

And that's what we need in mental health, just as much, if not more than the professional help.

And a great professional, by the way, if there's any mental health, mental health counselors, mental health doctors, and therapists out there, the more you lead with your heart.

In addition to your professional knowledge, the more effective you're going to be.

- [Lady] Do you know someone we should highlight?

Send us your suggestions and keep holding on.

(soft music) - That's it.

That's a wrap on season one of Hope givers.

(audience applauding) I want to thank everybody for being a part of this monumental first season, all of our hope givers.

Our Youth across America, student filmmakers.

Our Hope givers squad, teach the PSA crew and all of our incredible musicians.

And especially our crew behind the camera.

You guys are amazing.

I love you.

I love you.

I love you.

And I'm telling you, if you are ever questioning your life or questioning being here, let me remind you that we will always, always, always leave our light on for you.

And now performing their new hit single, "Lights', of their new album, "Where we meet", taking us out on season one.

This is Cloudland.

♪ Trying to stop time ♪ cause I'm feeling this ♪ ♪ Sunset in your eyes ♪ that I don't wanna miss ♪ ♪ Wooo-oo oo oo ♪ ♪ Trying to stop time ♪ cause I'm feeling this ♪ ♪ Sunset in your eyes ♪ that I don't wanna miss ♪ ♪ Heartbeat strong all the way home ♪ ♪ Heartbeat strong when ♪ the lights come on ♪ ♪ Tonight, I'm alive ♪ ♪ Under all these heavens I see you ♪ ♪ Now, I want nothing ♪ ♪ More than what is coming into view ♪ ♪ What's coming into view ♪ (funky music) - 20 Seconds.

Describe yourself in as many words as possible in 20 seconds.

- Okay.

- Handsome.

- I'm a business owner, musician and philanthropist.

- Funny, goofy, strange, weird.

- Dorky, wild, adventurous.

- Calm, powerful, strong.

- Advocate, actress, model.

- Loving, caring, empathetic.

- Energetic, eccentric.

- Accepting of all people.

- Aww.

- Uh, I'm.. Yeah, that's probably it right there.

- 20 seconds (indistinct).

♪ Tonight, I'm alive ♪ ♪ Under all these heavens I see you ♪ ♪ Now, I want nothing ♪ ♪ Only what is coming ♪ into view, all right ♪ (guitar music) - [Soloist] Thank.

Y'all so much.