Ewan's Mental Health Legacy

Ewan Rodriguez took his own life aged 15 in January 2020, the photo above was taken the day before he died. His beautiful smile in that photo is such a stark example of how sometimes we can’t tell how much someone is struggling.

Ewan was a kind, funny, energetic, warm hearted boy whose death was devastating to his family and friends. His autism and ADHD meant he had often struggled in school settings with teachers who couldn’t give him the care he needed but he was very bright and inquisitive and was looking forward to going to college with his friends and especially learning to drive as he loved cars!

Since she lost Ewan his amazing Mum Michelle has devoted an incredible amount of time and energy to raising funds for mental health charities to support struggling children and young people through ‘Ewan’s Kind’ her Facebook fundraising page.

This fundraiser is to help Michelle continue to create a legacy for Ewan that can have a big impact on children who need help right now but also to help Michelle in her own process of grief since the loss of her wonderful son.

Michelle has spoken over the last few years of wishing to learn photography and as I work as a professional photographer I want to help her deliver long term mental health workshops that will use photography as a nonverbal therapeutic artform for children who are struggling to express themselves.

Why photography? Photography can have a significant positive effect on mental health and wellbeing, it can boost self-esteem, confidence, memory, and decision making. It can also be a form of mindfulness which can help people suffering from depression, anxiety and even PTSD.

If we raise enough funds then in addition to the workshops we will also create a mental health book. This will showcase the children’s images and offer ideas and instructions for other people who are struggling to create their own photos and hopefully help them as well.