After dealing with depression following his son Jeff's suicide, former Lions quarterback Eric Hipple is dedicated to speaking to others about depression, an illness he says, "No one likes to talk about."It is estimated about 20 percent of teens will experience depression before they reach adulthood, and that 30 percent of teens with depression also develop a substance abuse problem, according to teendepression.org.

Hipple will be offering a free presentation aimed at middle and high school students, families and professionals at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Grosse Pointe South High auditorium.Hipple spent his entire career (1980-90) with the Lions and went on to have successful business career in the auto industry and as a motivational speaker.

But in 2000, his 15-year-old son Jeff, committed suicide after struggling with depression. Following Jeff's death, Hipple decided to devote his energies to helping others detect and treat depression and to break down the stigma surrounding depressive illnesses.

"I went overboard and had a couple close calls myself," Hipple said "I finally said, 'Wait a minute, if this can happen to me and to Jeff, when he was a good kid and never got in trouble, then it can happen to anyone.' "I did some research and got educated and saw that the body and the brain changes when suffering from depression. I wanted to know more and more about depression, so I started talking to people and it grew from there.

Hipple is currently an outreach coordinator and spokesperson for the University of Michigan Depression Center."If I can make a difference in someone's life, then Jeff didn't die without a purpose," said Hipple, who also serves on the board of the Mental Illness Research Association and the American Association of Suicidology.