Wayne Elhart Be Nice Memorial Fund - Oceana
Fund Type
Donor Advised
Donor Advised
Established
10/02/2015
10/02/2015
Purpose
To promote mental health awareness and suicide prevention in Oceana County, in memory of Wayne Elhart (son of Barb Davidson)
To promote mental health awareness and suicide prevention in Oceana County, in memory of Wayne Elhart (son of Barb Davidson)
Story
Pentwater Public School student Dylan Rafter died of suicide after battling with depression. This tragedy impacted the village on the heels of the loss of Pentwater’s Barbara Davidson’s son Wayne Elhart of Holland to the same disease in March 2015. After the death of Wayne, Barbara Davidson and her son Jeff Elhart sought out an education program that could make a permanent impact on individuals who struggle with the disease and to those that do not but need to understand how to see the warning signs of others so that they can provide help. The criteria for which the family evaluated the various training opportunities were based on its ease of understanding, ease of executing classroom training, staying power of the program and retention by those who study the topic and finally the cost of the program. The family partnered with the Mental Health Foundation of West MI to seed the development and outreach efforts of the Be Nice mental health program. Early childhood years are the most important time to prevent mental health disorders and promote healthy behavior. Some kids experience strong feelings of stress, confusion, self-doubt, and pressure to succeed at home and at school. Some kids feel left out and are targeted and bullied, or are the bullies themselves. They may develop depression and contemplate suicide or turn to harmful substances and engage in other types of risk-taking behaviors as the solution to their problems. While childhood suicide is very uncommon, deaths from suicide still occur and are the third leading cause of death among high school students in Michigan. There is a way out. Unlike many diseases like terminal cancer, mental illness is treatable. Suicide is preventable.
Pentwater Public School student Dylan Rafter died of suicide after battling with depression. This tragedy impacted the village on the heels of the loss of Pentwater’s Barbara Davidson’s son Wayne Elhart of Holland to the same disease in March 2015. After the death of Wayne, Barbara Davidson and her son Jeff Elhart sought out an education program that could make a permanent impact on individuals who struggle with the disease and to those that do not but need to understand how to see the warning signs of others so that they can provide help. The criteria for which the family evaluated the various training opportunities were based on its ease of understanding, ease of executing classroom training, staying power of the program and retention by those who study the topic and finally the cost of the program. The family partnered with the Mental Health Foundation of West MI to seed the development and outreach efforts of the Be Nice mental health program. Early childhood years are the most important time to prevent mental health disorders and promote healthy behavior. Some kids experience strong feelings of stress, confusion, self-doubt, and pressure to succeed at home and at school. Some kids feel left out and are targeted and bullied, or are the bullies themselves. They may develop depression and contemplate suicide or turn to harmful substances and engage in other types of risk-taking behaviors as the solution to their problems. While childhood suicide is very uncommon, deaths from suicide still occur and are the third leading cause of death among high school students in Michigan. There is a way out. Unlike many diseases like terminal cancer, mental illness is treatable. Suicide is preventable.