Tate Eugenio had a close-knit family and a tight circle of friends from high school and college. He had a job he loved working in an assisted living facility. He was in school to become a computer engineer. He was looking forward to seeing his favorite artist in concert, thanks to a gift from his sister.
He died by suicide on Nov. 27, 2021. Tate was 19 years old.
“He was a typical kid growing up,” said Tate’s dad Randy Eugenio. “We knew he had been struggling, that he was at risk for hurting himself, but we never thought it would really happen. And that’s what we want people to know. It can happen to anyone."
October 2026 marks five years since the Children’s Hospital Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry jointly declared a national state of emergency in child and adolescent mental health.
The number of children facing mental health issues, which had already been increasing, was made even worse by the Covid-19 pandemic. Tate’s parents know that the pandemic contributed to his struggle with depression.
“First it was his senior year of high school and losing out on so much,” said Tate’s mom Angie Eugenio. “Then it was starting college in isolation. He found so much comfort in his friends and his girlfriend and then he couldn’t be around them. When his relationship ended, I think he felt like everything was lost. He didn’t have those outlets that were important to him. It was all very traumatic for him.”
After losing Tate, Randy and Angie learned more about trauma. They want people to understand that trauma is different for everyone, and what is traumatic varies individually. Most importantly, people need access to trauma-informed care.
“There’s so much out there that we didn’t know about when we were going through it with Tate,” Angie said. “Our brains process trauma differently and need different things to heal from it. I’ve learned about so many treatments and therapies that exist that most people probably aren’t aware are even options for them. Everyone deserves access to the things that could help them.”
Randy and Angie did everything they could for Tate, and yet they still wonder if they could have done something differently. One thing they are sure of is that they want to share Tate’s story to prevent other children and families from going through this tragedy.
“We have to be able to talk about mental health,” Randy said. “We need to feel comfortable talking to our loved ones if we’re worried about them or if we need help. Even the people closest to us didn’t know how to approach the topic after Tate died. We need to normalize that mental illness is just another illness. It’s a medical issue; it’s not a failure.”
Randy said Tate was a “helper” and that his friends leaned on him during hard times. Even on the day he died, Tate was helping a friend through a disappointment.
“His death was just a moment,” Randy said. “We want people to remember how he lived, who he was. And he was a good friend, someone who was always there for them and for anyone.”
Randy and Angie are carrying his helping spirit forward and advocating for others to get the help they need to be okay.
“We have to do better, for everyone’s sake,” Angie said. “It doesn’t get easier, but we have to do better. We don’t have an excuse not to do better for kids.”
Preventing Youth Suicide Global Collaborative
Nearly 90% of young people who die by suicide had contact with the health care system in the year before their death. Tate was one of them; he received care several times that year.
In 2022, the Children’s Hospital Association, Cardinal Health Foundation, and the Zero Suicide Institute partnered to address this and find ways to better care for children at risk for suicide.
In September, that partnership expanded into the Global Preventing Youth Suicide Collaborative, a network of children’s hospitals in the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom implementing an evidence-based standard of care designed to identify and support youth at risk for suicide. Participating hospitals use standardized clinical pathways to systematically screen, assess, treat, and follow up with youth exhibiting suicide risk.
Learn more about how children's hospitals are working to improve care for children's mental health.
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