Six Feet Above. That’s what Kyah Johnson Iles named her non-profit organization when it was founded in 2022. Coming up with the name was easy. It had great meaning for this young woman. 

 

“I should be six feet under right now,” Iles explains. She detailed her life leading up to her suicide attempt off the Purple Heart Bridge a few years ago. Surviving the attempt was nothing short of miraculous and she began questioning why her life had been spared. 

 

“It became my purpose project,” she shares. 

 

Iles, Suicide Prevention Coordinator for the National Guard, has made it her mission to bring awareness. “Mental illness is an invisible illness.”

 

The 2nd annual Mental Health and Wellness Festival this Saturday at the Pineville Riverfront seeks to illuminate. 

 

This fun, free family event is dedicated to eliminating the stigma surrounding mental health and providing a safe space to access resources and learn the important of self-care and self-awareness. 

 

The festival is from 10AM-2PM with a special pre-festival free yoga session at 9 AM (bring your own mat). There will be music, vendors, community resources, food trucks, self-care crafts like DIY stress balls, and a noon mental wellness walk. 

 

With ever increasing suicide statistics, suicide prevention awareness is at the forefront of this mission. A Reasons I Stay wall has been erected to provide hope and reminders of light in times of darkness. 

 

Blue Cliff College will provide free chair massages while participants join in the many yard games throughout the festival. Door prizes will be held every thirty minutes for participants in attendance and two large raffle basket drawings (self-care and date night) will be held where winners do not need to be present. 

 

LSUAg will provide seeds for gardening. Iles finds it symbolic of self-care.  “We must constantly trim, water, and feed our plants for growth.”

 

There are also flowerpots to decorate and grow something beautiful. Grow through what you go through is one of Iles’ favorite sayings. 

 

It is a great one. We all face trials and struggles. Seeing them as growth opportunities instead of failures is one of the biggest tools we can utilize toward mental health positivity. 

 

Call 318-625-8801 for more information.