Teen athlete’s suicide prompted parents to act

By Peter Finney Jr.
Clarion Herald

The unthinkable happened to Lisa and Jordan Tabor on April 29. Their 15-year-old son Owen, a sophomore football player at St. Michael the Archangel High School in Baton Rouge, committed suicide.

“Owen was popular, never bullied, athletic, good looking and had everything going for him,” Owen’s father Jordan Tabor said. “If Owen could take his own life, then all of our youth are at risk.”

Two days later, the Tabors began working on a plan that might turn their suffering into redemptive action. They formed a student suicide prevention foundation – “Rain Will Bring Flowers” – to raise awareness and funding for programs that could help reduce the suicide rate among teens.

In the last year, 1 of every 6 young people has seriously considered suicide; 1 of every 7 has made plans to commit suicide; and 1 of every 12 has attempted suicide.

“In Louisiana, suicide is the second-leading cause of death for young people (ages 10-22),” said Tabor, who attended St. Benilde School and whose older brother attended Archbishop Rummel High School.

Prevention walk Oct. 7

The Tabors are sponsoring a suicide prevention walk in Baton Rouge on Oct. 7, with online registration expanding the footprint to allow walkers to sign up and walk where they live. Already, the walk, held under the auspices of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), has attracted nearly 1,300 participants, breaking the previous state record of 1,211.

Tabor is now setting his sights on eclipsing the $42,000 donation record for a “Walk Out of Darkness” event held in Louisiana. He has pledges of nearly $36,000. Registration and donation information are available at bit.ly/3EHVv7d.

“The more folks we have, the more people will hear the message and help us get the message out,” Tabor said. “The money will stay in Louisiana. Rain Will Bring Flowers, my foundation, and the AFSP will split that money and do joint programming.”

In the Archdiocese of New Orleans, the Department of Catholic Education and Faith Foundation offers suicide prevention training to schools, said associate superintendent Martha Mundine. Schools have been required since a state law took effect in 2017 to have two hours of training annually for faculty and staff.

“A lot of people were doing it anyway,” Mundine said. “We give them ideas for resources. Some of the schools call the local hospitals for speakers, and some of our school counselors have special training.”

The pandemic certainly had an effect on overall student mental health, Mundine said.

“There’s been a lot of social and emotional issues,” she said. “Adults are having the same issues.”

“I don’t know that we could point to the pandemic just by itself, because there’s data that the rates are continuing to rise,” Tabor said.

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