ABOUT GUESTS:
Kristen Roberts
Kristen Roberts is the co-founder and president of the MJR Foundation. Kristen’s son, Miles, died by suicide at the age of 15 in 2017. She works in the pharmaceutical industry specializing in clinical trial project management since 1998. She has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing and a Master's Degree in Health Behavior/Health Education from the University of Michigan. She hopes to support youth who are struggling with their social-emotional health and build a community of support, so suicide no longer feels like a viable option.
Jeffrey Roberts
Jeffrey Roberts is co-founder and chief operating officer of the MJR Foundation. Jeff’s son, Miles, died by suicide at the age of 15 in 2017. Jeff works as an Environmental Engineer. He has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering and a Master of Public Health in Environmental Industrial Health, both from the University of Michigan. Jeff is committed to supporting youth who are navigating a rapidly changing societal landscape. This challenge is part of Miles’ story. Learning to be healthy and practicing self-care is a challenge for many, particularly many men that are ‘toughing it out’, keeping their feelings to themselves and struggling in silence. Mental health is no different than physical health and Jeff will advocate for taking care of both as the co-founder/COO for MJRF.
RESOURCES:
Miles Jeffrey Roberts (MJR) Foundation
TRANSCRIPTION:
David Fair: This is 89.1 WEMU, and I'd like to welcome you to this week's edition of Washtenaw United. This is our weekly exploration of equity and opportunity in our community. I'm David Fair, and today, we're going to explore loss, grief, resilience, hope, and inspiration. We're going do do so through the eyes of parents who lost their son on May 29th of 2017. It was on that date that 15-year-old Miles Jeffrey Roberts took his own life. A short two years later, his parents launched a foundation named in his honor with the idea of investing in people and programs that might spare other similar grief. Kristen Roberts is co-founder and president of the Miles Jeffrey Roberts Foundation. And thank you so much for coming in today, Kristen!
Kristen Roberts: Thanks, David! It's great to be here!
David Fair: And Jeff Roberts is co-founder and chief operating officer of the foundation. Jeff, I appreciate your time as well.
Jeff Roberts: Thank you, David.
David Fair: Kristen, before we jump into the work of the foundation, would it be asking too much to have you share a little bit about who Miles was?
Kristen Roberts: No, I love to talk about him! So, Miles was a very energetic, outgoing, passionate, empathetic, competitive young man, and so much more. Just a lot of fun to be around.
David Fair: And as a part of the family dynamic, children can identify their parents as a unit, but they also have relationships separately. We have moms and dads that we relate to entirely differently. Jeffrey, what was the part of your relationship with Miles that made him all yours?
Jeff Roberts: Well, I really enjoyed kind of sharing my life experiences with Miles through athletics and competitive sports. I taught Miles how to snowboard, and we enjoyed learning out in the cold winter on the hill, one and another, kind of managing each other's emotions while we're learning this very technical and challenging activity. And of course, he was a quick learn, which made it fun for me also. And he was also very competitive, so he naturally wanted to be better than anybody he was competing against with whatever that activity was.
David Fair: And, Kristen, same thing. What was unique about your relationship with Miles?
Kristen Roberts: I think that Miles and I had a really honest relationship. He challenged me in ways that I...
David Fair: Boys will do that, won't they?
Kristen Roberts: They definitely do. We have four, so they all challenge us in different ways. But, no, he definitely challenged me and really, I think, helped me grow as a person. We had a pretty close relationship, especially during his middle school years. We were kind of still in that spot in ninth grade, but he was growing out of that into a very independent young man.
David Fair: Our Washtenaw United conversation with Kristen and Jeff Roberts continues on 89.1 WEMU. They are co-founders of the Miles Jeffrey Roberts Foundation. It was created and is named in their late son's honor. Kristen, how does the focus of the work of the foundation reflect those aspects of your individual and family relationship and experience with Miles?
Kristen Roberts: Well, the foundation, we were trying to create something that we feel like was part of Miles' story, its legacy, our family's legacy. And so, we searched pretty deep to try to figure this out. It was to support students, specifically student athletes, in a way that they could obtain knowledge and, most importantly, understand, within their school setting, what resources might be available to help them at times of need.
David Fair: And, Jeff, as she says, the foundation is working to empower particularly youth athletic communities to promote mental well-being and suicide prevention. So, how programmatically do you go about accomplishing that mission?
Jeff Roberts: Yeah, it's an exciting opportunity for us because the student athlete is already a population who works very hard, can be stressed with sore bodies and sore minds from practicing and learning to compete. And so, what the program does is brings a team together. Now, this team obviously is a like-minded cohort of individuals who are already working together. But instead of the X's and O's of the sports, what we do is we set aside a presentation to talk about the X's and O's of your mind and let them know that you're going to have some rough days, you're going to feel anxious about something maybe it has nothing to do with the sport, and you need to be able to rely on your teammates, rely on your coaches, and rely on the resources available to you to kind of navigate those waters. And it has been exciting, and we've gotten such a great response from the student athletes.
David Fair: Mental health and well-being: an issue in all walks of life. And societally, we are getting better about talking about it. But there's still a long way to go. So, to follow further along the line you were walking, Jeff, is it particularly difficult for those who are participating in athletics in particular and within that team dynamic to ask for help? Or is just asking for help difficult a universal issue?
Jeff Roberts: I think it's a universal issue. And of course, Miles was a fierce competitor and was a great athlete. And he was his best self when he was with his team, when he was competing and enjoying himself. So, we knew that this population was an opportunity for them to bridge a gap--that gap of not being willing or not believing they needed to ask for help. And so, this program really bridges that gap between the stereotype of an athlete who says "you just need to be strong and toughen it out" to one that says, "I really do feel like I need to go find a resource and speak to them about what's going on between my ears, not just how sore I am after a hard workout."
David Fair: And so, Kristen, does it change the nature of the conversations kids are having amongst each other and with their coaches and supervisors?
Kristen Roberts: Yeah, absolutely! So, one of the things I've been really excited about is getting feedback from both coaches and, importantly, parents that have had amazing conversations with their kids actually bringing up the details of the presentation and engaging in these discussions about mental wellness and mental health that they previously were not having that type of dialog.
David Fair: In inspiring students to invest in mental health and wellbeing, not only for themselves, but their peers, the MJRF offers a scholarship program. Jeff, how does that work?
Jeff Roberts: Yeah, we offer scholarships both at Skyline High School and Pioneer High School for graduating seniors. They need to write an essay associated with mental health and what their feelings are about it, how they have either navigated the waters or how they maybe helped somebody navigate waters, maybe where they plan to study mental health and wellness in the future. And then, that essay gets reviewed by an scholarship award team. And then, we give out two scholarships at each high school for $2,500 each.
David Fair: And as I understand it, there's still time for interested students at Skyline and Pioneer High Schools to apply.
Jeff Roberts: There sure is, but the time is running out. May 15th, I believe, is the deadline. And it's fair to say that if we don't have the numbers that we're looking for, we could extend that. But right now, May 15 is the deadline.
David Fair: Once again, this is Washtenaw United on 89.1 WEMU, and we're talking with Jeff and Kristen Roberts, co-founders of the Miles Jeffrey Roberts Foundation. And, Kristen, as I mentioned, the foundation was launched back in 2019. Where does it go from here?
Kristen Roberts: Yeah, we're dreaming big! So, we're very excited to be taking the programming to Huron High School this coming fall. So, we'll basically be--
David Fair: Expansion.
Kristen Roberts: Expansion, yes. So, we will be across all of the Ann Arbor Public Schools come this next school year, '25-26. But we really are hoping, and we believe it's really achievable to build this program across Washtenaw community--you know, the greater county.
David Fair: Yeah, there's ten total school districts in Washtenaw County, and I am quite certain that every single one of them could benefit. I'll ask a final question of each of you, and we'll start with you, Jeff. What do you think Miles might think of the work that's being done in his name?
Jeff Roberts: David, I'd like to think Miles would be very proud of this work. I know that he often was a counselor for his classmates and for his teammates. He always had a listening ear and always made himself available to listen and understand what was going on with others. This effectively is that model. Student athletes are not going to speak up if they're not made comfortable to speak up and given the access to the opportunity. And I believe Miles would be so happy to be in front of a group of student athletes explaining what resources are available to help them make better decisions about where they go with their mental well-being.
David Fair: And, Kristen, what do you think he would tell you with that very close and interpersonal relationship that you shared?
Kristen Roberts: Yeah. He would tell me that he's very proud that this program exists, that if he was here, he would be wanting to help others, that it aligns with the trials and tribulations that he was going through, and that just dialog is important, destigmatization is important and just building a community of a safety net around you to help support you when you go into these darker times.
David Fair: I'd like to thank the two of you for coming into studio today and sharing your story with us. And thank you for the work you're doing!
Jeff Roberts: Thank you, David! It's our pleasure!
Kristen Roberts: Thank you!
David Fair: That is Kristen and Jeff Roberts, co-founders of the Miles Jeffrey Roberts Foundation, named in their son's memory, and our guests on Washtenaw United. To learn more about Miles and the work of the foundation and to apply for a scholarship if you are a high school student at Pioneer or Skyline High School, go to WEMU.org when you have a moment, and we'll get you everywhere you need to go. Washtennaw United is produced in partnership with the United Way for Southeast Michigan, and you hear it every Monday. I'm David Fair, and this is your community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU FM Ypsilanti.
WEMU has partnered with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan to explore the people, organizations, and institutions creating opportunity and equity in our area. And, as part of this ongoing series, you’ll also hear from the people benefiting and growing from the investments being made in the areas of our community where there are gaps in available services. It is a community voice. It is 'Washtenaw United.'
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