Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst’s family starts mental health fund one year after her death

Photo: Paras Griffin/Getty Images

“Just because someone tells you they’re fine, doesn’t mean they are,” Cheslie Kryst’s mom, April Simpkins, told the audience at the Miss Universe pageant earlier this month.

Context: Kryst, a Charlottean who was Miss USA 2019, died by suicide on Jan. 30, 2022.

What’s happening: Simpkins announced the Cheslie C. Kryst Memorial Fund for Mental Health at the Miss Universe pageant, a news release stated.

• “Cheslie dealt with high-functioning depression,” Simpkins said at the pageant in New Orleans. “The Cheslie you saw didn’t always match the way she felt inside.”
• The funds will go to NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. 
• Donations can be made here.

Flashback: Kryst worked as an attorney in Charlotte. After she was crowned, she moved to New York City and became an Emmy Award-nominated correspondent with ExtraTV.

• She attended the University of South Carolina and received her M.B.A. and J.D. from Wake Forest University.

Of note: The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available for individuals in crisis or for those looking to help someone else. It is free, available 24/7, and confidential.

• Call 1-800-273-8255 to speak with a certified listener.
• Crisis Text Line is a texting service for emotional crisis support: Text HELLO to 741741.

[Go deeper: Charlotte remembers former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst on what would have been 31st birthday]