STEUBENVILLE — The Jefferson County Juvenile Task Force figures it’s not just kids who can benefit from hearing Reach1 founder Markus McFolling talk about facing adversities in their lives and mental health.

Task force members say McFolling’s life journey — he grew up in inner-city California, a star running back with big-league aspirations until a career-ending injury derailed his dream of playing in the pros and sent him into a downward spiral of depression and addiction, only to find redemption through a faith-based rehabilitation program — is one that adults can relate to, too.

He’ll share his story Sunday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the YMCA Wellness Center at the St. John Arena in hopes what he says can help others find their way. The community event, sponsored by the task force, is free. There will be “plenty of door prizes, including a chance to win a two-night stay at an Airbnb cabin near Salt Fork,” and everyone who attends–child or adult–will get two free weeks admission to the YMCA.

Local wellness and fitness professionals will be on hand, and there will be “active fun and games” for kids as well as free hot dogs and water.

“Markus will talk about overcoming adversity in life and inspiring youth,” task force member Joe Colabella said. “He will give his personal testimony of how he overcame adversity. We are hoping parents and guardians of the students of Jefferson County will come hear the message (the kids) heard from Markus in school.”

Colabella, the county’s juvenile court administrator, and Probation Officer Jamie Dent said kids were spellbound when McFolling did school visits during the past few weeks, and McFolling himself was pleased with the reception he got.

“One consistent theme that kept resurfacing was that young people are going through so much, but in silence,” McFolling related in one social media post. “My prayer is that after each of these presentations, they’ve felt seen, loved and called. Pain is a necessary part of our journey — none of us are immune to it, but it’s only part of the journey …”

Colabella said the task force tries to focus on issues affecting young people in the community and trying to arm them with the tools they need to overcome them. Last year, for instance, they targeted sexting and texting.

“Markus went into each school district and spoke to pretty much all of the kids from sixth to 12th grade about their story, and the kids absolutely loved him,” Colabella said. “So our goal is to get the parents, guardians and adults in the doors at the YMCA to hear his message — it’s pretty powerful.”

Dent said she was brought to tears by McFolling’s message and the kids’ reaction to it.

“It’s about overcoming adversity and having that backup plan for when something goes wrong, how are you going to persevere, what are you going to do,” Dent said. “But also, at the same time, it’s about letting the kids — and now, also, adults — know that they’re not alone no matter what they’re going through, and they have the ability to talk to somebody, that there’s help out there and there’s other people going through similar things.”

Dent said parents of children who were at McFolling’s in-school program have thanked her. “I’ve had parents reach out to me and say, ‘I don’t know who you brought into my kids’ school today but thank you.’ Kids who typically wouldn’t open up to their parents, they were going home and talking about it,” she said, citing one mom who said her standout son came home “and was like, ‘Mom, I couldn’t wait to come and tell you about this guy that came to my school today, I don’t feel alone anymore.’ She was like, ‘I know some of his struggles…but I didn’t realize that somebody like this would have an impact on my child.”

Dent said the youth himself told her, “If you brought him back for the next two years I would absolutely listen to him every single time.”

“Markus just hits a spot,” Dent said. “I think he’s just relatable to everybody — to any kid, to any parent, to anybody that works with kids, anybody who works with any kind of stress, which is pretty much everybody, right?”

Colabella said their goal Sunday is “just to get people in the door to hear this message” and know there are “resources out there if they themselves or a family member needs help.”

“When you talk resources, it’s not even necessarily like, ‘these are the counseling agencies in Jefferson County’ and ‘these are the things that you can do, the programs you can be a part of,'” he added. “I think the important thing with this is that the resources could also just be your neighbor or the teachers that teach your kids’ science or the basketball coach — there are resources everywhere. I think that’s the biggest thing with these community events, realizing that you have people that live in your community (you can talk to).”

The task force is made up of representatives of juvenile court, the sheriff’s department, the prosecutor’s office, the health department, Jefferson County Educational Service Center, the prevention and recovery board, Family Recovery, the ALIVE Shelter, A Caring Place, Ohio BCI and the Wintersville, Mingo Junction, Steubenville and Toronto police departments.