Sugar Grove mother works to eliminate stigma of mental illness after daughter's suicide

SUGAR GROVE – Susan Chapple of Sugar Grove wants to make sure no parent has to endure the pain of losing a child to suicide.

So she created a nonproft, Jenna's Hope, to try to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental illness and suicide after her daughter, Jenna Chapple, took her life in 2018 at age 30.

"Mental illness is a disease that can affect anyone, but there's a such a stigma," Susan Chapple explained. "It doesn't matter what you look like or what your background is. Mental illness does not discriminate. It affects all ages and all walks of life."

Susan Chapple is working to help other families who have lost children or family members to suicide. She wants people to know that mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, and that help is available.

"About three months ago, we created the nonprofit [Jenna's Hope] to help others by referring people to suicide prevention services. Suicidal people can call, and parents can call if they're concerned about their kids," she explained. "I want people to realize what a stigma there is [about mental illness], and that there is hope. People who are struggling need to know that it's OK not to be OK."

Jenna Chapple was a gifted athlete while attending Nequa Valley High School in Naperville, where the family lived at the time. Susan Chapple said that her daughter played tennis, basketball and softball – but never wanted to be the center of attention and was a very shy person.

Susan Chapple said Jenna Chapple didn't show signs of mental illness until after she went through a "devastating" breakup with a boyfriend a few years after graduating from high school.

She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and depression, which she continued to battle for the rest of her life. Susan Chapple explained that her daughter moved around, even pursuing a modeling career in California before eventually landing in Portland, Ore. Throughout that time, Jenna Chapple had several hospitalizations and two suicide attempts.

But Jenna Chapple had seemed to be improving, and was "doing well mentally" after she moved to Portland, her mother said.

"She got a job as a vegan cook, she was volunteering and advocating for animals. She had a lot of friends there," Susan Chapple said.

But a few weeks before her death on April 26, 2018, Susan Chapple said her daughter was prescriped opioid pills for pain after having surgery on her finger, which she injured at work.

"She said a few days prior [to her death], that she was going through a 'down time,'" Susan Chapple said. "Then one day I couldn't reach her. I found her friend on Facebook and asked him to check on her. He went to her apartment with police and they found her."

Jenna Chapple was a strong advocate for mental health, and shared her struggles with others in hopes that she could help them. Susan Chapple said she picked the name Jenna's Hope for the nonprofit because it was Jenna's hope that "the world would see mental illness as the disease that it is and end the stigma."

"I want to open doors that Jenna couldn't open for others," Susan Chapple said. "She was a wonderful person, she had everything going for her but she had an illness that she couldn't beat. To carry on her legacy, I need to be out there talking to kids and the schools need to do something. This is an epidemic. I want Jenna's life to make a difference."

Susan Chapple said there have been several suicides in the Sugar Grove area in recent years. She is hoping to work with the schools and other nonprofits to educate people about the effects of bullying, because her daughter was bullied on social media.

"People can be so mean, and they don't know what it's doing to others. Kids as young as 10 or 11 years old are getting bullied and are going home and hanging themselves," she said. "The pain of losing a child is one you wake up with every day. People need to know they have to keep trying and keep working to find the right medications. The suicide rate is climbing, and more attention is being called to it because it's everywhere. We've got to help each other and end this terrible epidemic."

Jenna's Hope's first fundraiser on Nov. 7 is already sold out. All proceeds from the event at Bliss Creek Golf Course in Sugar Grove will be donated to Suicide Prevention Services of America in Batavia. More information about Jenna's Hope can be found at www.jennachappleshope.com.