Our society can struggle at times discussing mental health and suicide.

Two twin brothers on Team Wyoming (WY) — set to play in the 2025 Chipotle-USA Hockey Youth Tier II 18U National Championships this week in Utica, New York — are trying to change that.

While growing up in Wyoming, Braxton Thomas noticed how ignored conversations about mental health were, noting the state as one of the highest suicide rates in the country.

“A lot of people, especially in Wyoming, have that very strong cowboy mentality where you just bury your feelings, you get to work, you don’t really like to talk about things,” he said. “Recently you see a shift where that mindset has not worked. That mindset, especially in Wyoming, has caused a lot of suicides. Getting people to open up and talk about it more is what is happening.”

Their introduction to the Jae Foundation showed Braxton and his brother, Daxton, a way to get people to open up and talk about their struggles, through the medium of cowboy boots and what’s called a boot check.

Their mom, Glenda Thomas, said, “The head of the Jae Foundation, Jason Vickrey, felt the cowboy boots were a way to help open up these conversations. And that’s why Brax, Dax, and I have jumped on trying to support that and get it into Casper.”

All three have been touched by this problem. Whether it’s a friend’s dad who died by suicide or the need to talk a friend from the precipice or witnessing family and friends struggle.

“There’s just some real-life experiences, even at 18, they’ve been through related to suicide,” Glenda said.

The Jae Foundation is named after Vickrey’s friend, Jae Bob Bing, who had a love of the outdoors, fishing, and cowboy boots. When Bing took his own life in 2016, Vickrey felt there was a need to reach out to others.

The twins discovered the Jae Foundation when attending a retreat. From there, the Thomas family helped get this effort into Casper which eventually provided 2,000 cowboy boots to the high school seniors and the teachers.

“The boots serve as a reminder that you’re meant to be here, you’re loved,” Dax said. “When we see those boots, a quick thought to the brain is I have these boots for a reason. These boots are meant to help my mental health and every kid who receives the boots. They take you through a three-part experience. They tell you a story, and the story is very impactful. Going through high school, I got a lot of suicide talks. We try to work on mental health, but no story has compared to the story that the Jae Foundation tells you. That’s why it’s so impactful and why the boots kind of add to it and find you those boot check moments.”

Glenda added: “The boys have been around cowboy boots and horses their whole lives, but having these boots people will walk up and say, ‘Hey, nice boots,’ and that gives you the opportunity to say, ‘How’s your mental health today? Do you need to talk?’ We’ve been so grateful one of the cities Jae Foundation wanted to help was Casper, Wyoming.”

The boys are also able to extend this effort to their hockey team.

“It’s a cool conversation piece, as we’re able to tell our teammates look what’s happening in Casper,” Dax said.

“It helps by [being] able to help our teammates out and connect with them in different ways,” Brax said. “To be able to have deeper conversations with them.”

Team Wyoming won the national title last year in 1A. This year, they’ve been bumped up to 2A for nationals.

Dax acknowledged that the competition will be tougher this year, but Team Wyoming intentionally played a tough schedule all season, so they feel prepared for what’s to come at nationals.

Team Wyoming will be busing it across the country, a 30-hour road trip to get to Utica. Plenty of time to bond and have boot checks — conversations which the Thomas twins have been able to destigmatize through their desire to help others.

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For resources on mental health and suicide, there’s the National Alliance on Mental Health (https://www.nami.org/) and the Suicide Hotline (https://988lifeline.org/).

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.