Shining a spotlight at shadows where depression hides

Derian's Story

When I first had the idea for Lost and Found, I was sitting in a car with my best friend, Brendon Gomez. We were listening to the musical Dear Evan Hansen, and there had been a recent suicide at our school. As we were listening to this musical about suicide awareness, we looked at each other and we just said, you know what, we can do this, we can really make a difference. All we have to do is put forth the effort. And from that tiny little idea, in a minivan, on our way to a camp out, listening to a musical that I have heard like a million times, it’s grown bigger than I ever thought it would, even though it is still small right now. Depression, anxiety, and mental health in general, are things that I have struggled with for a long time, and so have my family and my friends. It’s been rough, but things have been getting so much better, and honestly, it all started with Lost and Found. This is something that I have wanted to do for a very long time. I have always wanted to make a difference. I ran a suicide hotline out of my bedroom a couple of years ago, just trying to help people. I feel like with Lost and Found, I can really do that on a much bigger scale, and that makes me so incredibly happy because this is all I have ever wanted. The fact that in 2-3 weeks, we managed to put together an entire production team, we have corporate sponsors, we have a venue, and people who want to form lasting partnerships with us. Everything that’s happened, it happened in such a short amount of time, and it’s unbelievable, and it’s really brought an insane amount of happiness into my life. I want to thank everyone who was there to help us grow this from the beginning; my family, my friends, just everyone. And I want to thank all of you for really making this happen. I guess that’s it!

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