CULLMAN, Ala. – Cullman County District Attorney Champ Crocker recently attended the second annual Love Like Lexi Gala, which was held Thursday, Oct. 30, at The Bibb Mill Event Center in Columbus, Georgia, in connection with the Helping Families Initiative (HFI).
Crocker received the “Speak Life” award, which is given to community leaders who have made contributions to the project’s mission to promote hope and prevent suicide.
“The Helping Families Initiative began years ago as a school-community program in the Mobile County District Attorney’s Office with the objective of identifying troubled youth in schools and connecting intervention services to their families,” Crocker said. “My office, as well as around half of the DA’s offices across the state, partner with local school systems through the Helping Families Initiative. My HFI team leader is Cortney Myrex, who joined this office in January after several years of working with the Cullman County school system.”
Crocker shared that HFI primarily deals with students and families who are struggling with attendance, behavior and mental health issues.
“We have an interagency team of school officials, mental health professionals and other stakeholders to address these problems in our schools,” he said. “In the last two years we have seen a spike in mental health referrals for students. We’ve got kids who are struggling, and HFI is here to provide assistance.”
In August, Crocker said, his office partnered with Cullman County Schools, Cullman City Schools and Premier Bank to bring the Love Like Lexi Project to local high schools.
“The project, founded by Andrea Mills after her daughter Lexi’s death, aims to equip students with tools to handle life’s challenges through a curriculum of assemblies, workbooks and community projects,” Crocker said. “We have facilitated Love Like Lexi at three local high schools so far and are working to schedule more before the end of the school year.”
For more information, visit www.lovelikelexi.com: “The Love Like Lexi Project brings a message of hope. This message was celebrated at the Love Like Lexi Annual Live Gala on Oct. 30, which would have been Lexi’s 25th birthday. No matter what kind of mistake or trouble someone has, there is always hope. By promoting hope, the Love Like Lexi Project is not only raising suicide awareness, but also saving lives.”
