The country’s most ‘remarkable woman’ works to prevent suicide in Charlotte.
In 2019, CharlotteFive named her a community builder. In 2020, she saved a college football player’s life. And in 2021, Fox46 crowned her the National Remarkable Woman of the Year. Charlotte resident Fonda Bryant is a mental health and suicide prevention advocate dedicated to helping save lives.
At 35, Bryant’s life was saved by her personal hero, her Aunt Spankie. Depressed, exhausted and self-isolating, Bryant was simply going through the motions of life while planning her suicide. “I knew something was wrong, but I didn’t know what,” Bryant said.
“Culture matters when it comes to mental health, and in the BIPOC community you’re told to just be stronger, toughen up, to pray about it. My mother had five children, so I thought why can’t I do this with just one? What is wrong with me?”
On Feb. 14, 1995, her apartment immaculate, Bryant had planned every detail of her suicide, including letting her Aunt Spankie know that she could have her collection of shoes. “In the Black community, shoes are a big deal, and when she heard that and saw my appearance and how I had started isolating and stopped eating, she knew something wasn’t right,” Bryant said.
The police intervened and Bryant received treatment. “Aunt Spankie saved my life. She went against my mom and my grandmother, my whole family. She took action, and she saved my life. Everyone needs an Aunt Spankie,” Bryant said.
After a second bout of depression in 2014, it was Bryant’s son, Wesley Bryant, who stepped in as the hero. He noticed Bryant withdrawing and confronted her saying, “You can help other people, I know you can.”
That spurred Bryant to seek out a therapist and ultimately turn her own experiences into a career helping others. She joined the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), became a certified instructor in Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) as well as in mental health first aid, and began making her presence in Charlotte known.
“You are not alone. Need help?”
You may have seen green signs in parking decks all around uptown that say, “You are not alone. Need Help?” followed by contact information for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255). Those are the work of Bryant.
After hearing about repeated suicides and attempts in local parking decks, Bryant took action. She implored parking decks around the city to put up these signs to help save lives — her efforts even attracting the attention of the Washington Post.
It is hard to know how many lives those signs have impacted, but one life that Bryant knows she helped save is that of Chaz Ah You. Ah You is a football player at Brigham Young University who posted some tweets that — despite not making any mention of mental health or suicide — made Bryant’s QPR training radar go off.
“I just knew something wasn’t right. I messaged him constantly for weeks — ‘Are you OK? I can help.’ I see the signs. I was persistent. Finally, he reached out and said that two weeks before I had messaged him, he was planning his suicide. We’ve texted every day since,” Bryant said.
In December 2020, cameras captured the two meeting in person for the first time. Ah You told the cameras, “It’s kind of like meeting your superhero. It’s like meeting your Superman or Batman. Ms. Fonda tells me all the time suicide does not have a face; it can hit anybody.”
Her relentless efforts to reach out, to educate and to save lives, got Bryant nominated as Nexstar Media’s Remarkable Woman of the Year in Charlotte. She went on to compete with 10,000 other remarkable women from all around the country and was ultimately deemed the National Remarkable Woman of the Year.
During quarantine, Bryant began teaching QPR training sessions, both in Charlotte and around the country, to everyone from business professionals and universities to Girl Scout troops and athletes. In addition to her paid training sessions, she is also offering two free sessions a month — one geared towards adults and one towards teens.
“You have the power to save a life. Everyone does. QPR training gives you the tools to empower you to do so,” Bryant said. “These classes are for kids as young as 12. We don’t give kids enough credit. I did a session last week, and afterward had a young girl call me and tell me she had contemplated suicide. You don’t know the struggles people are having.”
Upcoming free session
Bryant’s next free session is being held via Zoom on May 22. Details can be obtained by emailing fondanc_40@yahoo.com. During the hour and a half training, participants will learn to recognize signs, talk about mental health and suicidal thoughts, listen without judgment and refer those struggling with depression and considering suicide to helpful resources.
Bryant will be uptown throughout the month of May as she brings awareness to mental health by handing out green ribbons and holding signs encouraging people to honk for mental health. Regardless of the continued praise and recognition she has received, Bryant wants people to know one thing is for certain — “I am not done.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts:
Visit: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
Call: 1-800-273-8255
Text: HELP to 741741
Emergency: 911
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