“This may be the most important film as a parent you will ever watch. I hope and pray we honored our son’s legacy and help others through our pain,” Brad Hunstable.
The mission began with tragedy
The world lost Hayden Hunstable to suicide in the middle of the mandated COVID-19 stay-at-home orders on April 17th, 2020 just 4 days before his 13th birthday. His family explained that Hayden did not struggle with depression nor did he have a history of mental health problems. He was a normal healthy and happy kid who was unprepared for social isolation. His parents attribute Hayden’s emotional suffering to a “perfect storm of routine disruption, social isolation, increased gaming, and a pressure stack of activity cancellations.”
Hayden’s dad, Brad Hunstable, posted a heartbreaking video two days after burying his son and spoke of an “emotional bubble” that he believed was about to burst in America. His video hit home with parents all over the world, immediately going viral, and amassed more than 110 million views with countless comments.
Sharing Hayden’s Story
Over the last few months, the Hunstables have poured themselves and their hearts into making this short documentary film called “Almost Thirteen.” The mission of the film is to raise awareness of pre-teen and teen suicide. “I must admit, it has been difficult beyond description,” explained Brad. “Grieving while making a movie has been challenging and scary, but we believe it’s critical to saving others during this time of national anxiety.”The Huntables are currently producing a full-length documentary set to release over numerous platforms in the 
Spring of 2021. However, due to 100s of thousands of texts and emails from families stating they either lost a child to suicide or have children who have attempted to take their own lives, they felt a sense of urgency to produce this 16-minute short documentary film to start connecting to people as soon as possible.
“I don’t want anyone to feel this pain or see what I saw,” Brad said. “Hayden’s death didn’t have to happen. As a parent, I [have] learned so much of why, how, how to prevent, and the signs [and] I am driving to help others.
The work is just beginning
Healing
While Brad and his family have set on a path to dedicate their lives to bringing effective and impactful awareness to youth suicide and how to prevent it, they are also discovering and learning how to cope after an unimaginable loss. “We are healing. Everyone heals at different speeds and grief definitely has stages. I have been shocked, sad, angry, had immense guilt, and every other imaginable emotion,” Brad said. “But, we are all in wonderful Christian counseling – we laugh, we cry, we walk, we pray…”“…Slowly the dagger in our hearts when we think of Hayden is becoming thoughts of joy. His smile in my mind warms my heart.”