Kelly and Bob Specht never thought their lives would be impacted by mental illness. Their son,
Carl, suffered a mental health crisis during his sophomore year at Kansas State University and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Carl battled the illness and worked hard to stay healthy. He graduated from Kansas State, landed his dream job as a sales engineer with a fortune 500 company and moved to southern, California. Five years after the onset, the illness returned. The nightmare returned, and Carl's life was interrupted. He returned to Kansas City where his family and friends were there to support him. However, access to care was denied, and resources were not available. Carl died by suicide on June 23, 2017. His life was not defined by mental illness, but his death was. It was the result of depression and the stigma that surrounds mental illness.

After the devastating loss of Carl, Bob made a comment that would change the trajectory of our lives - it was the first ray of hope that we would survive this tragedy. He said, "We have to bring mental health awareness to the stadium level" ? it was a big goal, but it made sense. If messages about mental health could reach thousands of people in a stadium, it could reach every age and demographic. If Carl had heard messages that 'it's ok to not be ok', 'it's ok to ask for help', maybe he would still be with us today. That is how Carl's Cause began. In the past five years, we have raised almost $500,000 through a golf tournament and various awareness events throughout the year. In 2021, Carl's Cause 'made it to the stadium level'!!

The Kansas City Royals and The University of Kansas Health System held the first 'Mental
Wellness' night at the K. Bob threw out the first-pitch and Kelly sat in the Buck O'Neil Legacy seat. More than 500 fans of Carl's Cause wore green t-shirts to show support of 'the Cause'.

The money we raise helps many different organizations such as NAMI (National Alliance for Mental Illness), Building Brotherhood at Kansas State University, Marillac Center in Overland Park, however most of the money benefits The University of Kansas Health System's (TUKHS) Strawberry Hill inpatient treatment facility. It opened in the Fall of 2019 and after meeting the incredible people and touring the facility, we knew it was something that would have helped Carl if it had been available when he needed that help.

Through our donations, the Health System has hired the first Behavior Health Navigator. These are privately funded positions and play a vital role in the continuum of care when a patient is discharged from inpatient treatment. Our current goal with the health system is to expand this into the Carl's Cause Behavior Health Navigator Program, where more Navigators can be hired and impact more individuals and families in our community.
In July of 2022, we returned to the stadium and teamed up with the Kansas City Royals and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City to promote the rollout of 988.

https://carlscause.org/

Nominator says, "They inspire me as they continue to fight stigma, their passion for mental health, raising awareness and supporting others in the local communities is a tremendous asset those in need."