PATCHOGUE, NY — Ellyana DeLaTorre’s dog sometimes waits for her to return in the usual spot that he did on the floor in her family’s Patchogue home.
When it gets too late, he goes up to her bed and lays down at night to go to sleep.
The 18-year-old, who suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and died unexpectedly in 2021, will never walk through the front door.
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Her legacy of caring will live on though.
After her death, her mother, Eileen, ensured that.
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She started a mental health advocacy organization as Ellyana’s namesake, using her nickname, “Elly.” In the nearly two years since its formation, Elly CARES Project has raised around $25,000, and its volunteers have set out on a path to help others struggling with their mental health.
The organization chooses beneficiary organizations, like the drug education awareness organization Long Island P.R.E.P. to donate funds to every year. It has also raised a $1,000 scholarship for a student at Elly’s former school, Sequoya High School at Eastern Suffolk BOCES.
The winner was decided by an essay on their personal experience with mental illness and how they turned it into something positive.
The organization’s key fundraiser is the Ellyana DeLaTorre Mental Health Awareness Walk/Run Stomp the Stigma 5K. Last year’s event drew around 350 people.
Eileen expects the same turn-out, maybe a little bit more when the event kicks off at 9 a.m.
Last year’s event raised thousands of dollars, as well as a ton of awareness about mental illness issues.
What was most notable to Eileen was that there was a strong presence of young people, which is exactly the organization’s target audience.
Support from the Greater Patchogue community, including residents and businesses, has been enormous as the organization has been evolving.
“It’s just continuing to grow,” Eileen said.
Would Elly approve?
“Absolutely,” Eileen says.
“This is why we do what we do,” she said Wednesday. “We do what we do to continue her work because she was always lending out a hand to help everybody else.”
Elly always had time to hear the troubles of others and stuck with them during their times of need.
She had a great sense of empathy for people “no matter what she was struggling with,” Eileen said.
Elly, who was high-functioning on the autism spectrum and a competitive cheerleader, struggled with ups and downs. She was sometimes unable to decide what she would wear for the day due to her OCD.
Despite her struggle, she did not seek any solace in substance abuse, until the night of her death. She died of an accidental fentanyl overdose in Aug. 5, 2021, according to Eileen.
Since learning the cause of her death, Eileen has incorporated substance abuse awareness into the campaign of Elly CARES Project, as mental health struggles often go “hand-in-hand” with substance abuse issues “for a lot of people,” she said.
Eileen says it’s important that the organization be available for all of the kids who need it.
The 5K will feature tables from awareness and charitable organizations, like P.R.E.P., the Patchogue-Medford Youth and Community Summit, Angels of Long Island, Patchogue Kiwanis Club, and Caitlyn’s Vision.
Iron Medics, which serves the first responder community and helps with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, will also be there.
There will be also have a “chalk the walk,” where people can draw inspirational messages on the street.
“It kind of sets the tone,” Eileen said. “It is really very nice.”
The event will have free refreshments, including bagels from Bagel Lovers Cafe, as well as bottled water and granola from Target. It will also include an awards ceremony with medals, as well as cash rewards for the top runners.
One of the new features the organization has added to the run/walk is free registration for at-risk youth.
“We don’t want anyone to not be able to participate due to the cost,” she said.
Part of Elly CARES Project’s mission is to make sure that it is for everyone.
“We don’t want anyone who is suffering to think that they are alone.
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