While doctors and clinics play a crucial role in treating people, sometimes, healing also comes from unexpected places.

When life knocked him down, music helped one local man back up.

And now he's using that to inspire others.

"Carolina Impact's" Dara Khaalid, and videographer John Branscum tell us more.

(screen whooshing) (TV static) ♪ You're enough ♪ Many days I was feeling stressed ♪ ♪ Long nights I was so depressed ♪ ♪ You're enough ♪ All the pain that was just a test ♪ ♪ To be alive, you already blessed.

♪ - [Dara] These lyrics are the echoes of his real life journey.

- I just remember feeling like I had completely failed.

There were days where I would just lay in the room all day.

I really didn't want to come around people, which, that's the greatest sign to know when something's wrong with somebody like me, because I'm a people person.

(gentle music) Yep, yep, yep.

- [Dara] In his breakout song, "You're Enough," local hip-hop artist, Dequan Starnes, better known as Q-Starnes, opens up about his five-year battle with depression.

It started when he was just 17, and got cut from his high school basketball team for having bad grades.

- My mom had no idea that I felt like I had failed.

I'm sorry.

It was days where I felt like, what are you gonna like, who are you?

I just felt like nobody.

- [Announcer 1] Starting at the line shooting too.

- [Dara] The Monroe native tells me he was a standout player his junior and senior years at Porter Ridge High, lighting up the court, drawing headlines and catching the eyes of college scouts.

He thought the NBA was next, but when that dream came crashing down, so did he.

- I don't know what I'm gonna do.

I don't know if I'm gonna go to college.

I go from this loud, successful name, to nothing going at all.

And I went through a very depressed time, and just trying to figure out who I was.

- [Dara] That's when he picked up his pen, and began turning pain into purpose.

- I was writing and writing and writing and writing and what I was writing was really my thoughts, but I was writing them in the form of music.

- [Dara] With every line he wrote, he found his way back to the little boy who first fell in love with music, a love passed down by his late great-grandmother, Carrie Bell Brewer.

- She played a lot of music around the house.

And then when she would do that, of course I'd come in, and just kind of reenact all the lyrics of the songs.

The Michael Jacksons, the Whitney Houstons, and the list goes on and on.

- [Dara] But what resonated with him most, ♪ Too may things for you to deal with ♪ ♪ Dyin' inside but outside you looking big ♪ - [Dara] Were the raw, poetic, and thought-provoking lyrics that came from his favorite rappers.

- It's those records that spoke to me from a very young age that I understood like, these guys are a little bit different.

They speak in a way where it gets you through a time where you need to hear those lyrics.

♪ For sure I feel your pain and I know the feeling ♪ ♪ I used to stay up late night staring at the ceiling ♪ - [Dara] Which is exactly what he aimed to do in 2021, when he released his song, "You're Enough," raising awareness on mental health, and uplifting those dealing with issues like depression, letting them know they're not alone.

- [Yanalyn] Especially with like going into my first year.

- [Dara] And Dequan has gone beyond the mic.

In 2022, he turned his message into a movement, launching the nonprofit Destined 4 Greatness Foundation, where he mentors young people, and connects them with critical mental health resources, giving them the support he once needed himself.

- He always let me know that he's there for me, and someone I can talk to.

Especially with him being someone who played high school sports too, he understands how I felt.

(gentle music) - [Dara] Mental health isn't the only focus of the nonprofit.

It also raises awareness on sickle cell anemia, a cause close to Dequan's heart, after watching his younger cousin Niyah Lindsey endure its painful grip since she was a little girl.

- It would be nights where we would literally hear her scream and cry all the way till we got to the hospital.

It was tough, when you look at somebody you love that's going through that.

- [Dara] Sickle cell is when red blood cells are misshaped, and look like crescents, instead of the normal disc shape due to a gene mutation.

The cells die early, causing a shortage of healthy blood cells, and can stop blood flow, which is excruciating.

- It's a ache, a nonstop ache.

Painful.

I don't remember a day without pain.

- According to the American Red Cross, it affects one out of every 365 Black or African American births.

And those like Niyah may need as many as 100 units of blood each year.

- With Niyah, her blood has to be specifically matched.

It's not just blood types, it's not A, B and Os, it's more into the antigens.

So we have to make sure that we attract African-American and Black donors.

- Hey everybody, my name is Niyah.

I hosted today's blood drive, the Breaking the Silence blood drive, and I do one thing.

- [Dara] This is where Destined 4 Greatness Foundation plays a hands-on role, hosting lifesaving blood drives that bring real hope to those who need it most.

- It means the world to me, because I know some people may look at it as a, just a generosity, but to me, it's my life.

So it's really a lifeline, and it gives me a better chance at life.

- [Dara] Similar to her cousin Dequan, she's found comfort and clarity in music.

- For me it's an escape from the real world, and from pain.

It's just an escape where you get lost in the music.

- [Dara] Growing up, Niyah dreamed of playing basketball, but sickle cell kept her off the court.

So she turned to the other passion that ran in her family.

Music.

She became a producer, and now she's creating powerful tracks with Dequan, including their song, "You're Enough."

- [Dequan] I think I'm most proud that how she has chosen to still overcome all the challenges and people telling her the things that she couldn't do.

- [Dara] With all that life has thrown at him, Dequan has created a rhythm that allows him to poetically share his mental health struggles through music, lifting up others.

That same melody flows into the life of his loved one, as he continues to raise awareness on a life-altering disease through his non-profit.

♪ True enough, many days I was feeling straight ♪ - [Dara] For "Carolina Impact," I'm Dara Khaalid.