ARD SU / NEXTGENRADIO
Warning: This story contains a mention of suicide and may be upsetting to some readers and listeners.
MOMENTS
OF
TRUTH
Cincinnati mom honors son through mental health outreach
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Luz Schemmel:
Es muy importante que no estamos solos, y estoy segura que mi hijo, Sebastian, se sintió muy solo ese día. (ENG TRANSLATION: It’s very important that we are not alone, and I’m sure my son, Sebastian, felt very alone that day.)
My name is Luz Elena Schemmel.
I have four kids. I have been in the U.S. for 30 years.
Our son, Sebastian, died unexpectedly last November, he… he died by suicide. And the sad thing is that we didn’t have any idea at all… like nothing.
A moment of truth is when you think you have everything under control — you finally start having money for travel, retirement, upgrading your house — And then something happens that makes you think that how things can change.
But he was such a talented kid. When he was at UC, he created [an] organization called “Men for Health,” and it was a student organization to talk about these things. So he knew that, but it’s like we just didn’t look deep enough.
But then I was looking yesterday [at] his Facebook page. In 2020, he posted, “May is the mental health month.” So there were things.
Es muy importante que las personas escuchen si alguien está sufriendo por depresión o necesita ayuda mental. Muchas veces creemos que [nos] hacemos muy fuertes y que no necesitamos ayuda. (ENG TRANSLATION: It’s very important for people to listen if someone is suffering from depression or needs mental health support. We often think we’re becoming so strong that we don’t need help.)
I have been working in nonprofit for the last almost 20 years. Well, why don’t we create a foundation with education? Because what they felt was that we didn’t know maybe how to ask those questions, or he didn’t know how to reach out for help, or he didn’t know all these different things that now that we have created the foundation. We have heard so many stories.
So, my father in law always says to us, “Take care of your mind and your soul if you are going to die tomorrow, and take care of your body if you are going to live forever.
Otherwise, it’s just hard to continue living if you don’t take care of yourself.
Something that has been really good for me is exercising, or going to dance on Thursdays at salsa on the square… knowing that my kids – my grandkids and my son that is married, that they are coming on Sunday for dinner…
Like, as a mom, it’s really hard to take care of myself right now. I mean, it’s like… I feel like I don’t want to get up [out of] my bed, but you have to.
Y hay que buscar ayuda. (ENG TRANSLATION: And you have to seek help.)
Last fall, she started a new chapter. Her children were getting married, graduating, starting their careers. She was easing toward retirement and enjoying life with her adult kids.
Then everything changed.
In November, Luz Schemmel received a phone call. Her second son, Sebastian, had died by suicide.
“My life is not the same. My heart is not the same,” Schemmel said. “The things that I liked before, I don’t like them anymore.”
Luz Schemmel holds a framed photo of Sebastian. She remembers him as a talented young man who started a college group to offer mental health support for other young men.
ALANNA MARSHALL / NEXTGENRADIO
Less than a year after losing Sebastian, Schemmel is still putting herself back together and figuring out how to live in a world without him. She has spent nearly 20 years being an advocate for families — especially immigrant families — in Cincinnati. Now, she is leaning on the community she has long supported.
Schemmel and her family had no idea how much Sebastian was struggling.
“I feel that as a mom, I did everything,” she said. “We looked for the best schools, the best resources to make sure that the kids [were] always supported. There was nothing that we didn’t do for our kids.”
While attending the University of Cincinnati, Sebastian started a group called Men for Mental Health, which aimed to defeat the stigma around discussing mental health in young men. In 2020, Sebastian shared a Facebook post about May being Mental Health Awareness Month. He discovered that pets can have a positive impact on mental health. That led to the adoption of the family’s two dogs, Scout and Dolly.
To honor Sebastian, the Schemmel family launched The Sebastian Schemmel Legacy Fund just two weeks after his death. The fund’s mission is to champion men’s mental health and raise awareness through scholarships, community outreach, educational programming and advocacy. Even if it is just one person, Schemmel wants to be there to listen and help.
Luz Schemmel looks outside to her two dogs, Dolly and Scout, on the balcony of her home in Avondale on Monday, July 14, 2025. Before his death by suicide last fall, Sebastian, Schemmel’s son, did research on how pets can improve mental health, which is how the family got their two dogs.
ALANNA MARSHALL / NEXTGENRADIO
As long as you remember the people who died, they are not dead.
A small section of a poster board collage with a photo of Sebastian Schemmel with Hillary Clinton. Schemmel was at a political rally and snuck up to the front just to meet Clinton.
ALANNA MARSHALL / NEXTGENRADIO
While still working on getting more understanding and peace in small moments, Schemmel prioritizes taking care of herself as she works through her grief.
“My father-in-law always says to us: Take care of your mind and soul [as] if you are going to die tomorrow,” Schemmel said. “Take care of your body [as] if you are going to live forever.”
Exercising, dancing salsa, having her kids and her grandkids over for Sunday dinner, and eating a bowl of Graeter’s ice cream on her couch at the end of the day are things that Schemmel doesn’t take for granted.
“Otherwise, it’s just hard to continue living,” she said.
In her search for understanding, Schemmel started researching suicide and its connection to the brain.
“We need to keep investing [in] the study of the brain, because I think something was not okay,” she said. “[Sebastian] couldn’t get out of whatever he was [in] at that moment, and he made that decision.”
Suicide is the leading cause of death among young people ages 15 to 29. Scientists are still conducting research on the brain’s connection to self-harm.
An article in Simply Neuroscience explains suicide as a mix of many factors including external stimuli, communication deficits and psychological inputs. Recognizing and assessing the warning signs of suicide is not an exact science.
“Some are easy to spot, and some exist only within the depths of the victim’s mind, making it not only arduous but mentally depleting to try and save someone from their brain,” the article states.
A report in Molecular Psychiatry adds: “We must increase our understanding of the mechanisms underlying both suicidal thoughts and suicidal behaviors (including suicide attempts) in young people.”
Sugar skulls are a common decorative object to observe Día de los Muertos. This year is the first time the Schemmel family will display a photo of their son, Sebastian.
ALANNA MARSHALL / NEXTGENRADIO
The legacy fund has helped Schemmel and her family work through their grief, but they will never be the same. Faith and religion have played a role in the grieving process as well.
She has strengthened her beliefs and Catholic traditions she learned growing up in Mexico. She celebrates Día de Los Muertos with her family every year on the first of November. Sugar skulls, statuettes of the Virgin of Guadalupe and flowers, decorate her home as a symbol to honor and celebrate loved ones from before. This will be the first year that Sebastian is a part of the ofrenda, where Schemmel has also honored Sebastian’s grandfather.
“What’s a better way [than] to put out a table with the food that they like, the things that they like, the pictures,” she continued. Schemmel discussed how special it will be to celebrate and honor Sebastian’s life in what she described as a beautiful tradition.
“This year, we’re going to have hope that he will come and we will feel him,” she said. “As long as you remember the people who died, they are not dead.”
The Schemmel family uses this table as part of their Día de los Muertos observance. The holiday often includes ofrendas, or altars, with photos of lost loved ones, their favorite foods, sugar skulls and flowers. This year is the first time the Schemmels will include Sebastian on their ofrenda.
ALANNA MARSHALL / NEXTGENRADIO
William and Luz Schemmel stand together on the back deck of their home. They started the Sebastian Schemmel Legacy Fund to honor their son’s life and support other young men or families with similar experiences.
ALANNA MARSHALL / NEXTGENRADIO