Through colorful rocks, elegant galas, and guest speakers, Kayla’s Hope removes stigma and creates hope in St. Charles. Kayla’s Hope Foundation was established by Kayla Lehmann’s parents after her suicide in 2017. Kayla had just turned 15 and was a freshman at East at the time. The goal of Kayla’s hope is to bring awareness to the mental health crisis and to remove any stigma associated with mental illness. Kayla’s Hope is run by her mother, Ruthie Lehmann, her father, Hans Lehmann, and her sister, Hannah Lehmann.
Kayla’s Hope provides support for several community resources throughout the Kane County area. A large focus of their work is fundraising for these resources to make sure that everyone has access to the help they need.
“The first thing we do is that we are fundraising. First of all, in order to be able to do the work, we have to have funds to do it,” said Ruthie Lehmann.
Kayla’s Hope supports suicide prevention services and the Second Act Scene 2 organization. The Second Act Scene is another non-profit based in Geneva and provides insurance for those who cannot afford it.
“[Without insurance people] subsequently cannot get counseling services, which is sad, because we feel like everyone should have the ability to get insurance and have the ability to go and see someone if they’re having a bad day,” said Lehmann.
In addition to fundraising, Kayla’s Hope contributes to school communities through speaker presentations and school support. A large focus of theirs is to break the stigma around mental illness for teenagers.
“We do a lot of mental health awareness and school support,” said Lehmann. “We support the hope clubs from both North and East with any kind of funding that they need to help with their hope weeks.”
Kayla’s Hope keeps a rock garden in memory of Kayla, located at the Fox Mill Club House. The rocks are often painted with encouraging phrases on them. The rocks come from elementary schools in the area, neighbors and the annual Rock Painting Party.
This year’s Rock Painting Party will be held on April 9 at the Fox Mill Club House from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
“It’s great because the rocks are outside all year, and after a while, they start to diminish and the paint comes off, so replacing those rocks is really important for us and keeping the garden,” said Lehmann.
