On July 21st, 2013, Peyton Riekhof’s vehicle was pulled from the waters of Geist Reservoir. The 18-year-old recent graduate of HSE High School was found dead in her car.  Authorities said she had driven off a neighborhood street into the lake.  After that tragic event, her father Mike Riekhof formed the Peyton Reikhof Foundation for Youth Hope.

According to her father, Peyton Riekhof suffered from depression. “She took her life because she couldn’t live in the darkness,” said Mike Riekhof.  “She couldn’t live in the depression that she was living with her every day.”

Reikhof cited some recent statistics from a recent anonymous survey of HSE School District students Grades 7-12.  35% of those surveyed were not engaged, 37% felt stuck and hopeless and 30% responded they lack well being.  Reikhof  called those “staggering numbers.”

Mike Riekhof was the featured speaker at a breakfast for the Youth Mentoring Initiative (YMI).  YMI trains adult volunteers to mentor young people in the Fishers area.

The group is looking for 50 new adults to mentor the youth of the local area as part of the “Mayor’s Challenge.”  YMI is also working to reach a fund raising goal of $50,000.  YMI has a new app you can access at this link.   You can also access the YMI Web page at this link.

Riekhof says YMI can be important to young people in the Fishers community.  “Our community has so much to offer,” Riekhof said, “I’m so glad Youth Mentoring Initiative is here give youth another outlet.”

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness and Hamilton Southeastern School Superintendent Allen Bourff spoke at the YMI breakfast to support the group’s efforts.  The MC for the event was Fishers City Councilman Todd Zimmerman.