Local Heroes
Family launches foundation in son's name to promote mental health treatment
Kenosha News
Deneen Smith Nov 25, 2019 Updated Nov 26, 2019
On what would have been Clay Davison’s 22nd birthday, his mother stood in front of an audience at Kenosha’s Civil War Museum and spoke about what she hoped would be her son’s legacy. Clay died in June 2014 when he was 16 years old, taking his own life after a two-year struggle with depression.
Since his death, his mother Felicia Labatore and her family have been devoted to promoting mental health awareness and to preventing suicide. She started by speaking to high school students, then by creating a suicide prevention video program for teens.
Now, with the help of friends, she and her family have created the Clay Davison Legacy Scholarship Fund, aiming to increase the number of mental health workers in Kenosha County by offering scholarships for people pursuing careers in mental health. Donations can be made to the Clay Davison Legacy Scholarship Fund through the Kenosha Community Foundation, which is administering the fund. Donations can be made by mail at the Kenosha Community Foundation/Clay Davison Legacy, 600 52nd St., No. 110, Kenosha, WI 53140 or online kenoshafoundation.org/scholarship-information/the-clay-davison-legacy/.
On Nov. 16, the foundation hosted its first fundraiser, a comedy night at the museum.
Labatore said she wanted a night of laughter to honor her son, who loved to make people laugh. The event sold out.
Among the crowd was Gavin Lux, the Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman and Indian Trail High School graduate. Labatore said Lux and Clay were close friends, and Lux came to the event to support the creation of the foundation.
Before the comedians took to the stage, Labatore spoke about her plans for the foundation, and her hopes for the community’s efforts to combat mental illness. "I said, ‘Let me let you guys all in on a secret: Today is Clay’s 22nd birthday. I just thought it would be awesome if we all gave him a gift for his legacy today,’” Labotore said of her talk to the crowd.
She asked people who donated to the foundation to hold up the lights on their phones, and the crowd obliged. “I said,’These are your candles, Clay. Happy birthday.’”
Foundation’s goals
Labatore — a Kenosha Police officer who also works throughout Wisconsin on mental health programs for law enforcement — said her goals for the foundation are twofold.“First, we have such a lack of mental health resources in our community,” she said, saying people seeking counseling or mental health treatment often have to wait weeks to find an opening for treatment. Affordable options are difficult to find. She hopes by offering scholarships to Kenosha County residents who are studying for degrees in mental health fields, it will help, over time, increase the number of practitioners here. “I just think it would be so awesome if, in however many years, we really contributed to increasing the number of mental health workers here. That would be such a great legacy for Clay.”
Her second purpose, she said, is making people feel comfortable talking about mental illness and suicide prevention.
“I always, from the very beginning, wanted my family to be an open book. Because if I didn’t share our story and our family’s story, who would? “People are in darkness, and when you are in darkness that’s when you feel hopeless and that’s when you get on that suicide path. “We each have a light, and if we could each put that on for the people next to us that have maybe lost their path a little bit, then people wouldn’t feel so alone,” Labatore said.
Widespread problem
Mental illness and suicide are a widespread problem. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 1 in 5 adults and 1 in 6 youth ages 6 to 17 in the United States experience mental illness each year.
The most common forms of mental illness for adults are depression and anxiety disorders, with 19 percent of adults reporting they have anxiety disorders and 7.2 percent saying they experienced a major depressive episode. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for Americans ages 10 to 34. Labatore said she hopes the foundation will begin offering its first scholarships this spring. The number of scholarships offered will depend on the foundation’s fundraising success.
Meanwhile, Labotore said she plans to continue to bring awareness to issues of mental illness, and to help encourage people to look out for those in need. ‘Always be a light’ At the Nov. 16 event, she said, “I told the group, ‘My hope for you is that you will always be light because you never know who is next to you in darkness, and my hope for you is that you keep fighting if you struggle because fighting is in your DNA.’”
Kenosha News
Deneen Smith Nov 25, 2019 Updated Nov 26, 2019
On what would have been Clay Davison’s 22nd birthday, his mother stood in front of an audience at Kenosha’s Civil War Museum and spoke about what she hoped would be her son’s legacy. Clay died in June 2014 when he was 16 years old, taking his own life after a two-year struggle with depression.
Since his death, his mother Felicia Labatore and her family have been devoted to promoting mental health awareness and to preventing suicide. She started by speaking to high school students, then by creating a suicide prevention video program for teens.
Now, with the help of friends, she and her family have created the Clay Davison Legacy Scholarship Fund, aiming to increase the number of mental health workers in Kenosha County by offering scholarships for people pursuing careers in mental health. Donations can be made to the Clay Davison Legacy Scholarship Fund through the Kenosha Community Foundation, which is administering the fund. Donations can be made by mail at the Kenosha Community Foundation/Clay Davison Legacy, 600 52nd St., No. 110, Kenosha, WI 53140 or online kenoshafoundation.org/scholarship-information/the-clay-davison-legacy/.
On Nov. 16, the foundation hosted its first fundraiser, a comedy night at the museum.
Labatore said she wanted a night of laughter to honor her son, who loved to make people laugh. The event sold out.
Among the crowd was Gavin Lux, the Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman and Indian Trail High School graduate. Labatore said Lux and Clay were close friends, and Lux came to the event to support the creation of the foundation.
Before the comedians took to the stage, Labatore spoke about her plans for the foundation, and her hopes for the community’s efforts to combat mental illness. "I said, ‘Let me let you guys all in on a secret: Today is Clay’s 22nd birthday. I just thought it would be awesome if we all gave him a gift for his legacy today,’” Labotore said of her talk to the crowd.
She asked people who donated to the foundation to hold up the lights on their phones, and the crowd obliged. “I said,’These are your candles, Clay. Happy birthday.’”
Foundation’s goals
Labatore — a Kenosha Police officer who also works throughout Wisconsin on mental health programs for law enforcement — said her goals for the foundation are twofold.“First, we have such a lack of mental health resources in our community,” she said, saying people seeking counseling or mental health treatment often have to wait weeks to find an opening for treatment. Affordable options are difficult to find. She hopes by offering scholarships to Kenosha County residents who are studying for degrees in mental health fields, it will help, over time, increase the number of practitioners here. “I just think it would be so awesome if, in however many years, we really contributed to increasing the number of mental health workers here. That would be such a great legacy for Clay.”
Her second purpose, she said, is making people feel comfortable talking about mental illness and suicide prevention.
“I always, from the very beginning, wanted my family to be an open book. Because if I didn’t share our story and our family’s story, who would? “People are in darkness, and when you are in darkness that’s when you feel hopeless and that’s when you get on that suicide path. “We each have a light, and if we could each put that on for the people next to us that have maybe lost their path a little bit, then people wouldn’t feel so alone,” Labatore said.
Widespread problem
Mental illness and suicide are a widespread problem. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 1 in 5 adults and 1 in 6 youth ages 6 to 17 in the United States experience mental illness each year.
The most common forms of mental illness for adults are depression and anxiety disorders, with 19 percent of adults reporting they have anxiety disorders and 7.2 percent saying they experienced a major depressive episode. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for Americans ages 10 to 34. Labatore said she hopes the foundation will begin offering its first scholarships this spring. The number of scholarships offered will depend on the foundation’s fundraising success.
Meanwhile, Labotore said she plans to continue to bring awareness to issues of mental illness, and to help encourage people to look out for those in need. ‘Always be a light’ At the Nov. 16 event, she said, “I told the group, ‘My hope for you is that you will always be light because you never know who is next to you in darkness, and my hope for you is that you keep fighting if you struggle because fighting is in your DNA.’”
Jimmy Yanny
May 2018
During Mental Health Awareness Month this past May, Indian Trail HS and Academy Art teacher, Michael Schroeder, invited Jimmy Yanny to come and do a day long workshop for his art students. Yanny is a local artist from Burlington and this is the second year that Schroeder has invited Yanny to his classroom. Schroeder writes “During Jimmy's workshop students developed a better understanding of how people live with mental health issues and that they are functioning members of our society. “ Yanny wants people to know he lives with Schizo-Affective disorder, Bi-polar disorder, and anxiety and is still a functioning member of society. In the past Yanny has offered watercolor classes at Love, Inc, Burlington. Yanny now has a gallery in Waterford (Parade Box 206 W. Main St. Waterford, WI) and sells his art there.
While Yanny was in the classroom, I took the opportunity to meet him and watch him paint with his watercolors. Yanny uses his brother’s photographs as inspirations for his paintings. Yanny is a graduate from UW Parkside and holds an Art Education Degree. While watching him paint, I was awestruck at his vision and talent as I watched him create these beautiful paintings. I highly recommend visiting his artwork at his new Gallery. It was both an honor and a pleasure to have met Jimmy Yanny and I am most humbled by his talent.
Submitted by Officer Kelly Andrichik
UW Parkside Police Department
May 2018
During Mental Health Awareness Month this past May, Indian Trail HS and Academy Art teacher, Michael Schroeder, invited Jimmy Yanny to come and do a day long workshop for his art students. Yanny is a local artist from Burlington and this is the second year that Schroeder has invited Yanny to his classroom. Schroeder writes “During Jimmy's workshop students developed a better understanding of how people live with mental health issues and that they are functioning members of our society. “ Yanny wants people to know he lives with Schizo-Affective disorder, Bi-polar disorder, and anxiety and is still a functioning member of society. In the past Yanny has offered watercolor classes at Love, Inc, Burlington. Yanny now has a gallery in Waterford (Parade Box 206 W. Main St. Waterford, WI) and sells his art there.
While Yanny was in the classroom, I took the opportunity to meet him and watch him paint with his watercolors. Yanny uses his brother’s photographs as inspirations for his paintings. Yanny is a graduate from UW Parkside and holds an Art Education Degree. While watching him paint, I was awestruck at his vision and talent as I watched him create these beautiful paintings. I highly recommend visiting his artwork at his new Gallery. It was both an honor and a pleasure to have met Jimmy Yanny and I am most humbled by his talent.
Submitted by Officer Kelly Andrichik
UW Parkside Police Department
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People With mental Illness Doing Great Things
May 2018
Alvin A. has lived with mental illness (MI) for all of his adult life. He has lived independently for many years. For about the last 8 months he has been living in an adult group home. His goal is to live independently in the community again.
A few weeks ago, Alvin was standing in line at the group home to get his medication when the female staff member fainted and became unresponsive. Alvin went into the kitchen, assessed the situation and called 911. He followed the directions of the 911 operator and stayed on the line until paramedics arrived and took over. The staff member ended up having a hypoglycemic episode and required medical attention.
This is just another example how people with mental illness are misunderstood in our society; thought of as being dangerous, criminal, lazy, or lack intelligence. On the contrary, most people with mental illness are intelligent and good people. Despite the huge disadvantages related to living with severe and persistent mental illness, under conditions that a “normal” person could never endure, they adapt to what they encounter while trying to maintain their dignity and humanity.
Alvin’s quick thinking and response in this situation perhaps saved this woman’s life. We wish that acts like this by people with mental illness grabbed as much attention as the violence and misunderstanding that our society projects on people with mental illness.
Alvin’s willingness to help and quick reaction should be an example to us all.
Good job Alvin!
May 2018
Alvin A. has lived with mental illness (MI) for all of his adult life. He has lived independently for many years. For about the last 8 months he has been living in an adult group home. His goal is to live independently in the community again.
A few weeks ago, Alvin was standing in line at the group home to get his medication when the female staff member fainted and became unresponsive. Alvin went into the kitchen, assessed the situation and called 911. He followed the directions of the 911 operator and stayed on the line until paramedics arrived and took over. The staff member ended up having a hypoglycemic episode and required medical attention.
This is just another example how people with mental illness are misunderstood in our society; thought of as being dangerous, criminal, lazy, or lack intelligence. On the contrary, most people with mental illness are intelligent and good people. Despite the huge disadvantages related to living with severe and persistent mental illness, under conditions that a “normal” person could never endure, they adapt to what they encounter while trying to maintain their dignity and humanity.
Alvin’s quick thinking and response in this situation perhaps saved this woman’s life. We wish that acts like this by people with mental illness grabbed as much attention as the violence and misunderstanding that our society projects on people with mental illness.
Alvin’s willingness to help and quick reaction should be an example to us all.
Good job Alvin!
