Eugene skate community honors Ben Moody, spotlights mental health support

Washington Jefferson Skatepark became both memorial and safety net as Eugene skaters gathered to honor Ben Moody, who died by suicide five years ago and would have turned 21 this year. The annual birthday celebration, built around Moody’s memory, used a familiar local space to reach teens and families who may be easier to meet at a skatepark than in a formal counseling setting.

The event was organized through The Ben Moody Foundation, created by Moody’s mother, Summer LeMay, to celebrate his life, bring people together and remind people in pain that they are not alone. This year’s gathering centered on skateboarding, but it also included a clear mental health message. Local listings described the celebration as featuring competitions, free skate instruction, snacks, live punk rock and mental health resources.

For the Moody family and many in Eugene’s skate community, the point was not only to look back. It was to turn grief into a public response that keeps showing up for young people where they already spend their time. The skatepark, long an informal memorial site and meeting ground for friends, supporters and grieving skaters, gave the day a practical purpose: make conversation about suicide loss less private and help people connect before a crisis deepens.

That message lands in a state where youth suicide remains a serious public health concern. The Oregon Health Authority says suicide is among the leading causes of death in Oregon and a leading cause of death for people ages 5 to 24. In 2022, Oregon recorded 109 youth suicide deaths, and the state’s youth suicide rate was 14.2 per 100,000, above the national average of 10.0 per 100,000. OHA said Oregon had the 12th highest youth suicide rate in the country that year, though preliminary 2023 data did not show another increase.

Lane County and state partners are pointing families to crisis supports that can be used now. Those resources include 988, the Lane County Crisis Line, Mobile Crisis Services of Lane County, Youth Line, Trevor Lifeline, Trans Lifeline and grief support groups for survivors of suicide loss. Lane County Public Health and the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Lane County continue to list those options as part of local prevention work.

The momentum behind Moody’s memorial has built over years. In 2022, Eugene skateboarder Mike Crespino launched an 831-mile skate journey from Washington Jefferson Park to San Francisco to raise $20,000 for a memorial for Ben Moody and Silas Strimple. That effort, like the birthday gathering, showed how Eugene’s skate culture has become a support network as much as a sport, with remembrance now tied to outreach, prevention and a place for people to be seen.