William Hayden Schuck Memorial Fund

Anyone who knew Hayden knew that he was bigger than life, always seeking out the greatest adventures this physical world had to offer. From the age of three climbing to the highest heights, later jumping from the highest cliffs into deep waters, and on to shredding down any mountain, Hayden was “fearless”. But the fears in his busy brain were the ones he just couldn’t quiet, and the restlessness of the physical body he was “trapped” in was so often just too much for him.

ADHD is a developmental disorder of childhood that puts kids at risk for poor outcomes; particularly school failure, substance abuse, and eventually problems with the law at an early age. It sounds like a cliché, and almost trite, but Hayden leaned into substances and alcohol early in his adolescence; he said to “quiet his demons”. And unfortunately, this self-medicating resulted in his arrest after a car accident one morning on his way back from the beach. He was arrested and detained in jail for 6 nights and then found unresponsive on the morning of 3/16/22.

As parents and professionals, we want to do everything we possibly can to prevent poor outcomes for our children. Despite our best efforts, ultimately, substance abuse claims far too many young lives…but no human, especially a young adult suffering from mental illness, should die in custody—especially while awaiting arraignment.

God’s will, the universe, and the energy all around us claimed Hayden’s physical body after his short 22 years on this Earth---but his force for wellness, change, and justice will live on.

The William Hayden Schuck Memorial Fund will be used to create change in prevention and intervention programming in middle school-age children with neurodevelopmental disorders and to support radical change in our justice system for young adults ages 18-25 in custody, particularly improved mental health screening at intake and procedures for contacting parents.