About Foundation – Run for Jeev

Mission Statement

Support and promote ongoing efforts for suicide prevention and mental health awareness in young adults in the community, by raising funds and volunteering.

Vision

To bring Mental Health awareness in Young Adults. To start the conversation that mental health is not a stigma and make people aware that they are not alone in this journey. To spread the word that there is no problem that cannot be solved and no thought that cannot be shared. Together we can prevent suicides in young adults.

From the family of Sanjeev Panja

Our dear son Sanjeev Panja lost his life to suicide at the very tender age of 20. Sanjeev was always a caring, loving, funny, goofy, and extremely motivated kid. He was always laughing and making others laugh.

Sanjeev will forever be remembered for his radiant smile, his infectious laughter and his unique sense of humor. To us and to the world he was a bundle of endless energy — always extremely motivated and full of life. To him, his world was his family and friends. He seemed to have the perfect balance in life. He always kept up with studies, loved sports, and loved having lots of fun with friends.

We consider ourselves a very “normal” family. Our home environment was warm, friendly, and never dysfunctional. We never noticed any suicide warning signs of in Sanjeev. He always seemed cheerful, happy, and always kept in touch with us.

However, on February 12th, 2022, our lives changed forever. We received incomprehensible news that we could never have prepared for. It completely shattered our lives.

We had always openly communicated with Sanjeev on all aspects of life, but it never occurred to us to ask him about his mental wellness. It never dawned on us to start a conversation with him about his mental health.

The pain and grief we are going through is unimaginable and no parent should have to go through what we are going through. Even more so, no person should have to go through the pain that our son went through.

In Sanjeev’s memory, we want to raise greater awareness on the importance of suicide prevention and the normalization of mental health in our community. We hope that the Run for Jeev Foundation will be able to help more communities like ours to facilitate greater conversation around mental health, more families like ours to openly communicate about mental wellness, and more people like our son to seek the help they need and realize the irreplaceable impact they have on this world.

-Srinivas, Nirmala, and Sruthi Panja

Our Gallery

Awareness about Mental Illness in Young Adults

Mental Health Statistics

1 in 3 (30.6%) young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 experienced a mental, behavioral, or emotional health issue in the past year (SAMHSA, 2021).
9% of teens ages 12-17 have one or more mental, emotional, developmental, or behavioral problems (NSCH, 2019).
7% of high school students reported feelings of sadness or hopelessness in the past year. This percentage is higher for females (46.6%), Hispanic students (40.0%), and lesbian, gay or bisexual students (66.3%) (CDC, 2020).
Among college students, 29.1% have been diagnosed with anxiety and 23.6% have been diagnosed with depression (NCHA, 2021).

Suicide Rates

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for teens and young adults, ages 10-34 (CDC, 2022).
5% of adults ages 18-24 reported having seriously considered suicide in the past month. This is a higher percentage than any other adult age group (CDC, 2020).
8% of high school students reported having seriously considered suicide in the past year. This percentage is higher among females (24.1%), and lesbian, gay, or bisexual teens (46.8%) (CDC, 2020).
9% of high school students attempted suicide in the past year. This percentage is highest among females (11.0%), black teens (11.8%), and lesbian, gay, or bisexual teens (23.4%) (CDC, 2020).