Parents Of Livingston Student Who Died In 2021 Speak Out

LIVINGSTON, NJ — Shiv Kulkarni, 14, was a rising freshman at Livingston High School, someone who excelled in sports and music and was admired for his kindness.

But according to a webpage for a non-profit organization his parents named after him, "All of this was not enough. Shiv suffered from Major Depressive Disorder…Shiv lost his battle to the disease on July 29th, 2021. Shiv identified as gay. He struggled fiercely with his non-conforming identity along with depression. But the social norms and the stigma around LGBTQ+ identity and mental health possibly stopped him from sharing till late. He internalized his acute pain so much that it was almost impossible to comprehend from outside."

On Wednesday, NJ.com published a lengthy piece called, "The Life & Death of A 'Perfect Human,' " about Shiv's struggles and the growing mental health crisis among teens. In the story, Shiv's parents talk about how — even in a society that's becoming more accepting of LGBTQ youths — Shiv still heard negative comments and felt alone, including weeks before he died.

"Shiv was scheduled to spend two weeks at a Massachusetts summer camp in the Berkshire Mountains that advertised itself as LGBTQ friendly," the story says. "He came home after just four days. Some of the staff used homophobic slurs, Shiv said. If that wasn’t bad enough, kids made fun of him for being Indian."

The story can be found here.

The family's organization held a mental health and wellness event for teens this past September and runs other activities. Find out about Shiv's Third Eye here.

For parents who've had trouble finding a counselor or other mental health resources for their kids amid the pandemic, New Jersey has Performcare to quickly connect them with providers, reachable at 1-877-652-7624. Read more about it here.

The new National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 988, the 988 Suicide And Crisis Lifeline. The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals in the United States.

In New Jersey, resources are also available at 866-202-HELP and on this page.

Call 911 in any medical emergency.