A Fairhope family is speaking openly about the loss of their 17-year-old son in hopes that sharing their story will help other families recognize the warning signs of suicide and reach out for help before it is too late.
Reece Johnson was a student at Fairhope High School, known among friends for his quick smile, sense of style and easygoing personality. To many who knew him, he seemed happy and carefree. His parents, Bryan and Susan Johnson, said few people realized the anxiety and inner struggles he was carrying.
The Johnsons agreed to tell their story publicly as Baldwin County grapples with a troubling rise in youth suicide and self-harm. According to the Jennifer Claire Moore Foundation, the Baldwin County Board of Education received 416 intervention forms during the 2017-2018 school year from students exhibiting unhealthy coping behaviors, suicide ideation or suicide attempts. Reece was one of two completed suicides in the county that school year, and there were many more attempts.
His father described the grief of a loss that still feels impossible to accept. ‘I won’t stand here and apologize for the choice that he made that brought us so much pain,’ Bryan Johnson told a packed church gathered to celebrate his son’s life. ‘All I can say is I don’t understand it.’
Friends remembered a teenager who could lift others out of dark places, even as he privately struggled. ‘He was always going. He was always doing something,’ his father said. Classmates said Reece could slip into a place they didn’t understand, but no one believed he would act on it.
The Johnsons want one message to reach every parent and every teenager: take talk of suicide seriously. ‘If someone actually says I’m going to kill myself, take them seriously, because you don’t get a second chance sometimes,’ Bryan Johnson said.
His mother urged families to validate a struggling child’s feelings and seek immediate help. ‘I may not understand, but I believe what you’re saying,’ she said.
Where to turn for help
Local and national resources are available for anyone struggling with thoughts of suicide or concerned about a loved one.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline offers free, confidential support around the clock. In Baldwin County, Lifeline Counseling Services provides 24/7 counseling at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), and Alta Pointe Health Systems offers Mental Health First Aid training. The Jennifer Claire Moore Foundation connects families with local hotlines and prevention programs, and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention organizes an Out of the Darkness Suicide Prevention Walk in Daphne each year.
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 911.