In the Community

Community Partner Highlight: How Kid in Corner is Shattering Stigma

December 17, 2024
Kid in the Corner grantee

In 2017, Francine Sumner lost her youngest son Zachary to suicide.

“I was looking to blame whoever or whatever I could, but after taking a good, hard look at that story, we realized that stigma played the starring role,” Sumner stated.

This realization allowed her to channel her pain into purpose. She founded the nonprofit organization Kid in the Corner to promote mental health awareness and support those struggling with mental illness.

Shattering the stigma

“We started this organization to shatter the stigma that surrounds mental health and support the kid in the corner, whoever that may be,” Sumner, CEO of Kid in the Corner, explained.

Kid in the Corner provides the ‘Penny Pledge Program’ for students in grades 4 through 12, featuring in-person presentations and conversations about stigma, mental health, and suicide prevention.

“We are out there in schools sitting on the floor with youth, moving the chairs away, sitting in a circle, and having these conversations with them directly to ensure genuine connection,” Sumner explained. “We are giving them the tools, skills, and resources they need to be able to recognize what’s going on, talk about it, support their peers, support themselves, and know what to do if someone came up to them and said, ‘I’m struggling, I want to take my life.’”

Kid in the Corner has reached over 30,000 kids and teens to date.

Striving to change the statistics and save lives

Did you know?

  • 40% of Arizona teens report poor mental health
  • Nearly 25% of Arizona teens report having suicidal thoughts

“I can’t change Zachary’s story, but I know we can change other stories, and we are – we absolutely are. And I get to work with Zachary every day,” Sumner said.

Need immediate help? Call or text Teen Lifeline or 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Take the pledge

Since Zachary was a coin collector, Kid in the Corner has a ‘Penny Pledge,’ a commitment to:

  • Reach out to the kid in the corner. Say hello, smile, ask where they’ve been.
  • Be aware of your own mental health.
  • Be a safe and caring person that others can talk to.

You can order a penny and take the pledge here: The Penny Pledge | Kid in the Corner. With a shared goal of shattering mental health stigma, you can take AZ Blue’s Stigma-Free AZ pledge, too.

Watch the video

Kid in the Corner was a 2023 AZ Blue Foundation grantee. “We were so blessed to be a grant recipient last year,” Sumner said. “It helped us reach more students, hire a program manager, and provide our free programming in schools.”

Kid in the Corner additionally received $1,000 as a finalist for the Courage in Action Awards at the AZ Blue Foundation State of Mind: 2024 Mental Health Summit.

To learn more about Kid in the Corner and the other finalists who are making a difference in our state through their mental health work, visit: Mental Health Summit.