Skate Mom Susan Plattner has found a way to turn heartbreak into something that matters for her community.
After her son Caleb Mehlman died from an accidental overdose on his nineteenth birthday, she started giving skateboards to kids around the Triangle area.
Every skateboard she gives comes with a story about Caleb and a warning about the dangers of drug use.
Caleb lived and breathed skateboarding from the time he was little.
His mom remembers him at three years old taking a scooter and figuring out how to ride it like a skateboard.
From that moment on he was always on a board. Marsh Creek Skatepark became his spot. Friends and neighbors remember him skating there for hours and always having a grin on his face.
But Caleb kept his struggles private.
Susan thinks he felt ashamed and didn’t want anyone to know what he was going through. “He wanted to figure it out on his own,” she said. “Things got out of control fast and we lost him before we could help.”
Drug overdose deaths tend to go up around the holidays.
In North Carolina, the highest numbers happen in December and January. Fentanyl is showing up more in accidental overdoses and too often the people who die don’t know it is in the drugs they are taking.
A few years after losing Caleb, Susan wanted to do something positive.
She started raising money to buy skateboards, scooters, and helmets for kids who might not have them. She gives each gift and tells Caleb’s story.
“The best part is when parents send pictures of their kids opening the skateboards,” she said. “Seeing them smile it makes everything worth it and brings me to tears every time.”
Over the past five years the effort has grown. This December she raised over twelve hundred dollars and people even donated their own skateboards.
She gave them out through the Boys and Girls Club of Wake County and Neighbor to Neighbor in Raleigh.
“I started this just to give back,” Susan said, “but the love I’ve gotten back is more than I imagined. I get to talk about Caleb and hear other kids share their skateboarding stories. It’s amazing to see this little spark of joy.”
Through skateboards and sharing her story, Susan keeps Caleb’s memory alive and reminds families about the dangers of overdose.
Each gift carries a message that goes beyond skating and reaches kids in her community in a real and meaningful way.