In Memory of Damien Scott Owen

In honor of Damien Scott Owen on what would have been his 17th birthday:

Damien was a friend to many, and his loss is felt daily. Damien knew God’s love and knew he was loved by others, but battled mental health issues that he could not overcome. In an effort to honor him and raise awareness of mental health issues, a GoFundMe has been set up to benefit and strengthen Santa Fe High School’s counseling program.

Mental health issues among youth are increasing at a staggering rate. It is estimated that one in every five youth (20% of children) are dealing with mental health concerns. Unfortunately, resources to help these children are severely limited. The lack of sufficient insurance coverage, access to resources, and stigmas surrounding seeking out help all make getting needed guidance and assistance difficult, forcing many to go without help. Many school districts are seeing students feeling depressed and overwhelmed, especially following COVID, leaving them feeling unprepared to deal with the large number of suffering students.

Family and friends of Damien have created a Feel, Reveal, Heal emblem and would like it to be a recognized symbol of help for students. Our goal is to get students talking. No one should suffer alone…help is available! By providing additional educational and training resources to faculty, staff and even students at Santa Fe, the conversations can flow easier. Our goal will be to make Feel, Reveal, Heal a recognized symbol of help. The caring faculty and staff at Santa Fe are perfectly posed to be this resource for our youth: available to listen without judgment and advise with kind words.

We are blessed to live in such a supportive school district as Santa Fe. The faculty and staff want to help the students thrive. Funds raised in this GoFundMe will go towards providing additional counseling, in-service education and resources to faculty, staff and students in the Santa Fe School District to help local kids in our community. Please donate to this important fundraiser to not only help us keep the memory of Damien alive, but to also help us give the school district support to provide help where help is needed. We do not want anyone else going through the loss of losing a grandchild/child/friend like this.

Happy heavenly birthday Damien. We love and miss you deeply.