YULEE, Fla. — Thousands of Floridians die by suicide each year, and for Zoey Schmidt, it’s an issue that hits especially close to home. Zoey’s best friend, Emily Sean Kline, took her own life just over five years ago. Kline was just 14 years old at the time.
“It happened in August of 2019, so we were both in middle school at the time,” Zoey told Action News Jax Sunday. “It was definitely hard dealing with it so young, but I feel like it really helped me grow into the person that I am today.”
On Sunday morning, Zoey and her mom, Joy Schmidt, teamed up to raise funds for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Every dollar raised at their salon, Moxie Salon and Spa in Yulee, went toward the organization in an effort to raise funds, honor Kline’s memory, and raise awareness.
“Our goal is to raise $1,000, hopefully more, you never know, but at first we were just going to do product sales to raise money, but then we decided that we wanted to make it much bigger to raise even more for the foundation,” Zoey explained Sunday morning.
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Now, Joy and Zoey are also pushing to emphasize the power we all have to prevent suicides in our daily lives beyond just Sunday’s event—saving lives one conversation with a loved one at a time.
“My daughter said one thing the other day that really kind of stuck out, is - you know - the happiest people, you think they’re happy and they’re living a great life, but deep down they have their own struggles that they’re dealing with,” Joy said. So just check on your, your family and friends."
Those who missed Sunday’s event but would still like to donate to the cause can do so by clicking the link here.
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