Mental Uplift & Support For Everyone 

The M.U.S.E. Initiative is the OWO Foundation’s national mental health and recovery system built specifically for creatives.
It exists because too many artists are dying from struggles the world could have prevented.

Creative lives carry unique pressures.
Irregular income. Constant rejection. Public judgment. Isolation. Trauma. Burnout. Substance dependence. Financial instability. Fame without support. Silence where help should be.

For decades, we have watched generation after generation break under that weight.

The M.U.S.E. Initiative is here to stop that cycle.

This program offers crisis intervention, therapy built for creative minds, addiction recovery pathways, financial stress support, community circles, long-term wellness planning, and education for families and partners who want to help but don’t know how.

This is not charity.
This is infrastructure.
Protection. Prevention.
A promise that no creator should face their darkest moments alone.

We honor the ones we lost by protecting the ones still here.

Why Your Support Matters

Every creator who saved you with a song, a performance, a movie, a book, a joke, or a piece of art carried battles the world never saw.
Some survived.
Many didn’t.

Your support becomes real, immediate help:

Therapy for someone spiraling.
A safe night for someone on the edge.
Recovery tools for an artist fighting addiction.
Mental health support for a young creator breaking under pressure.
A second chance for someone who thought they had none.

If a piece of art ever kept you going, this is your moment to give back.

Help us protect them.
Help us keep them alive.
Help us show them they matter.

Your donation keeps The M.U.S.E. Initiative alive and accessible for every creator who needs it.

Donate today.
Because the world needs creators.
And right now, creators need you.

Creators We Lost

A cross-era memorial for the M.U.S.E. Initiative
Mental Uplift and Support for Everyone

These names come from every generation, every genre, every corner of American culture.
They are the reason this initiative exists.

They are reminders of the lives we failed to protect.

1940s and 1950s

Billie Holiday
Jazz legend who lived through trauma, addiction, and exploitation. Passed in 1959.

Hank Williams
Country pioneer battling chronic pain, alcoholism, and untreated emotional struggle. Passed at 29.

Judy Garland
Hollywood icon who endured industry abuse, addiction, and severe depression. Passed from overdose in 1969.

1960s and 1970s

Jimi Hendrix
Reinvented the guitar. Lived with emotional turmoil, addiction, and chaos. Passed in 1970.

Janis Joplin
Raw, soulful powerhouse who battled depression and heroin. Passed in 1970.

Jim Morrison
Poet of a generation who struggled with alcohol dependence and identity collapse. Passed in 1971.

Sylvia Plath
Poet and novelist who lived with severe depression. Passed by suicide in 1963.

1980s and 1990s

Jean-Michel Basquiat
Cultural force across art and music. Struggled with heroin addiction and depression. Passed in 1988.

Kurt Cobain
Voice of an era who lived with depression, addiction, and impossible pressure. Passed in 1994.

Bradley Nowell
Sublime vocalist who fought heroin addiction and anxiety. Passed in 1996.

Elliott Smith
Quiet voice, heavy mind. Lived with depression and trauma. Passed by suspected suicide in 2003.

2000s and 2010s

Chester Bennington
Turned pain into anthems for millions. Lived with childhood trauma, depression, and addiction. Passed in 2017.

Chris Cornell
One of rock’s greatest voices. Lived with depression and addiction history. Passed in 2017.

Mac Miller
Honest, evolving artist who struggled with emotional health and substance dependence. Passed in 2018.

Juice WRLD
Spoke openly about anxiety, trauma, and self-medication. Passed in 2019.

Lil Peep
Genre-blending creator who struggled with depression and bipolar symptoms. Passed in 2017.

Robin Williams
A global light who lived with depression and undiagnosed Lewy body dementia. Passed in 2014.

Heath Ledger
Lived with insomnia, anxiety, and medication overload. Passed in 2008.

Philip Seymour Hoffman
Master actor who battled addiction and depression. Passed in 2014.

Brittany Murphy
Beloved actor who faced pressure, anxiety, and health complications. Passed in 2009.

Whitney Houston
One of the greatest voices of all time. Lived with trauma and addiction. Passed in 2012.

DJs and Producers

Avicii (Tim Bergling)
Global EDM icon who lived with anxiety, exhaustion, and the pressure of nonstop touring. Passed by suicide in 2018.

DJ AM (Adam Goldstein)
Pioneer who survived a plane crash and lived with PTSD and addiction. Passed in 2009.

Robert Miles
Producer known for Children. Battled private mental health struggles. Passed in 2017.

Erick Morillo
Superstar DJ who lived with addiction and personal collapse. Passed in 2020.

Keith Flint
Festival legend who battled depression and addiction. Passed in 2019.

Shock G
Producer and visionary who lived with addiction and emotional decline. Passed in 2021.

Why This Memorial Matters

Every name here represents thousands more.
Local musicians, filmmakers, dancers, painters, designers, rappers, comedians, actors, and storytellers who carried the same battles quietly.

They were not weak.
They were overloaded.
They needed support that did not exist.

The M.U.S.E. Initiative was built to change that.