Editor’s Note: This story contains information about suicide and may be triggering to some readers. If you are suicidal or having suicidal ideations, please call 988 immediately.
MaKayla Nicole Reeves and Kaylee Simmons were the best of friends.
In March 2023 they were sophomores at Stanhope Elmore High School and greatly involved in the schools JROTC program. The students were grieving the unexpected and tragic death of a classmate. Six days later, they had left his funeral and were helping each other through the healing process.
“We were taking a break from it all,” Simmons said. “We were trying to catch our breath because it was all emotional.”
Hours later Simmons would join her friends, classmates and faculty in the parking lot of school after the tragic and unexpected death of Reeves.
“I believe I was the last person to see her alive,” Simmons said. “She was always so full of joy and was so fun to be around. I didn’t see it coming.”
Cliff Williams / TPI Kaylee Simmons poses for a photograph at Stanhope Elmore High School. The now senior has organized assemblies and now a non-profit aimed at suicide prevention.
Simmons quickly turned into consoler. She hugged her favorite teacher in the parking lot. Both were grieving.
“These deaths not only touched friends and students but the faculty as well,” Simmons said.
SE principal Ewell Fuller said the time period was difficult at the school.
“I had to help plan the funerals of two students in a week,” Fuller said. “It was rough for all of us.”
Simmons knew in the moment she couldn’t let her friend's death be forgotten.
“I saw all that everyone was going through,” Simmons said. “I was going through it too. I didn’t want them to die in vain.”
Simmons went to Fuller and faculty. She wanted to do something. She helped organize a rally as school came back into session to let other students know and faculty know there was support.
“I didn’t know how it was going to go,” Simmons said. “We had more than 50 people there. I would have considered it a success to change one person's life. I said, ‘If somebody is sitting in that crowd silently, alone, and they are even considering the idea of suicide, I want tonight to be the reason they don't.’”
The rally brought a success story. Afterwards, a student came to Simmons and said they had thoughts of taking their own life. They got to talking and kept talking.
Almost two years later, Simmons said the student is once again excelling in school and is set to graduate with her next month. It is the same thing Reeves would be doing if she was still here.
“MaKayla joked about me saving her a seat for graduation that night,” Simmons said.
Simmons said she is unsure just how she and school staff will honor MaKayla that night.
“One thing is for sure,” Simmons said. “There will be a seat next to me for her.”
Simmons realized what she and others at Stanhope Elmore experienced is not unique.
She looked at statistics from the Centers for Disease Control related to suicide. She discoverd 22% of children ages 10-19 have thought about suicide.
The CDC said in 2021, 9% of high school students reported attempting suicide during the previous 12 months.
Stanhope Elmore has approximately 1,200 students. The CDC data meant about 120 students had come close to suicide and even more had thought about it. Simmons realized more must be done.
The success of the rally got Simmons to think that there is more she could do. She took the reins herself.
Just shy of two years after the deaths of Jones and Reeves, Simmons launched MNR: The Mak Project. It is a nonprofit organization and website, www.mnrthemakproject.com, dedicated to suicide prevention and awareness for school-age children and those affected by suicide.
Simmons had given Reeves the nickname ‘Mak.’ MNR stands for MaKayla Nicole Reeves but it also stands for Manage, Notice and Remember.
“I want to teach individuals how to manage their mental health, notice the signs of suicidal thoughts in others and remember those lost to suicide,” Simmons said.
It has a contact portion that allows those needing immediate help to reach out. Email goes directly to Simmons, as do the phone calls.
Her mission is to serve the students and faculty of Stanhope Elmore and Elmore County. Simmons has already partnered with counselors and family centers to aid in the mission of preventing suicide. She has helped create a small team of students to listen and help guide students. There is help for faculty and staff too.
“They are around students as much or more than families are,” Simmons said. “As we were gathering after the news of MaKayla, I saw the faculty hurting too.”
The project has quickly taken off. Simmons presented her passion project to a meeting of all the principals in Elmore County Schools last month.
“They gave her a standing ovation,” Fuller said. “They can’t believe a student has organized this.”
Simmons understands as a student she can’t give the professional help that is needed, but she can begin to listen and help others find help. She can also connect with faculty after the loss of a student.
“All of the programs I looked at only helped the students,” Simmons said. “None looked at the teachers.”
The principals inquired about how to bring the Mak Project to their schools. Simmons said it would take one or two student ambassadors at a school to keep things running smoothly. Through her work with Mak Project partners, Simmons, the ambassadors and the partners would help with school wide meetings presenting programs. There would also be support groups for students and faculty and events to help reach out into the community.
“At the moment I just want to work in Elmore County,” Simmons said. “I would like to grow it across the state once we get better organized.”
Simmons juggles her efforts on suicide prevention with being the battalion cadet commander of Stanhope Elmore’s JROTC program. She is also greatly involved in FBLA.
“Everyone has been great giving time when I need it for the Mak project,” Simmons said.
It is an area Simmons is greatly interested in. She has already nearly completed a year’s worth of college courses as a high school student. Simmons is aiming to get into counseling when she completes her studies.
Fuller is amazed at Simmons' efforts, especially with MNR: The Mak Project.
“She has done something I have never seen a student do before on this scale and tough subject matter,” Fuller said. “She has created the framework and done all the work for something amazing.”
