17
A Celebration of Life
was held for Jeremy
Owens on November
21, 2020 in Wrights-ville
Beach Park.
Clockwise from top:
Hundreds of people
fill the lawn as friends
and co-workers share
stories about Jeremy.
A procession of rescue
vehicles from Wrights-ville
Beach and nearby
towns rolls down
Causeway Drive to the
park where fellow fire-fighters
and lifeguards
salute in his honor.
There needs to be more awareness of
mental health, his mother says.
“Healthy brains have to be our focus. We
need a balance, a healthy balance. The main
thing: we need research, more data on this
type of medical condition. It’s more about
healthy brains and healthy brain chemistry.”
In the end, the sea will continue to ebb and
flow. Even the beach — our little paradise —
has its ups and downs. But we have lost our
Captain.
Jeremy’s mother has a song — “The Angel in
the Ocean” — brewing in the back of her mind.
“I do believe Jeremy’s going to continue to
watch over all that happens here and speak to
people in different ways,” she says. “One of
the messages he wants is the importance of
taking care of those struggling, making sure
they’re heard and have a venue to get the help
they need.”
Mental Health Resources
North Carolina First Responder Peer Support
www.ncffps.org
Amen Clinics
www.amenclinics.com
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org
To Write Love on Her Arms
www.twloha.com
Trillium Health Resources
www.trilliumhealthresources.org
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
www.afsp.org
Touched by Suicide (locals meeting by Zoom once a month)
www.touchedbysuicidenc.weebly.com
Wilmington Healing Center
Sandy Bell • 910-409-6573 • Sandy@WilmingtonHealingCenter.org
www.wilmingtonhealingcenter.org
See the January 2018 issue of Wrightsville Beach Magazine for an in-depth
roundtable discussion of how suicide has touched our community.
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com/unmasking-suicide
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM
ALLISON POTTER