Tattoo artist Ryan Robison and Laura Kane, Marshmallow’s HOPE founder and executive director, stand by a completed wall mural featuring Kane’s son, Zachary.
Marshmallow’s HOPE – Facebook
After losing her 14-year-old son, Laura Kane turned her grief into purpose by becoming a therapist and starting a nonprofit to offer free mental health services in the hopes of preventing youth suicides.
Her son Zachary Birkholz died by suicide on Sept. 16, 2018, in Rockford, Illinois.
Kane’s Rockford-based nonprofit opened a free mental health clinic last summer in Belleville’s Copper Bend Centre at 2810 Frank Scott Parkway West. It is called Marshmallow’s HOPE. “Marshmallow” comes from her nickname for Zachary, and “HOPE” stands for “Hold On, Pain Ends.”
The expansion to southwestern Illinois came at the request of the state Department of Healthcare and Family Services, which said the metro-east was in need of mental health treatment options, according to Kane.
But she said word of the Belleville location has been slow to spread. She hosted an open house event on June 12 to let people know they’re here to help.
Ryan Robison of The Art Asylum Tattoo Studio paints a mural featuring Zachary Birkholz at Marshmallow’s HOPE in Belleville. Jennifer Green Belleville News-Democrat
The clinic offers outpatient programs, individual counseling, grief therapy for individuals and groups, home-based therapy, therapeutic mentoring and parent education classes.
The target clientele for the services ranges from youth ages 9-19 to emerging adults ages 20-26.
Therapy for those who lost a loved one to suicide is also offered.
“As a parent, losing a child is unnatural,” Kane said. “They’re supposed to outlive the parents. … Without this place, I don’t think I would ever survive this.”
Warning signs of suicide
Looking back, Kane said one of the signs of Zachary’s struggle was that he stopped playing music. He would spend hours at the piano and could play anything from Twenty One Pilots to Mozart, she said.
The music stopped about two weeks before his death.
He also didn’t sleep. He wasn’t being a stubborn kid, refusing to go to bed, she said. She thinks Zachary couldn’t get his mind to settle down enough to fall asleep, a symptom of anxiety.
Kane said Zachary was having peer struggles at school and was being bullied.
Regarding those signs, she said: “I didn’t know what I didn’t know.”
She and Zachary talked about everything — except mental health. Kane said Marshmallow’s HOPE is working to show young people it’s OK to talk about.
Community presentations and school assemblies are ways Marshmallow’s HOPE raises awareness among young people, helping students understand warning signs and urging them to speak up if they or someone they know is struggling.
Metro-east in need
Before she opened the Belleville clinic, Kane said the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services reached out to her after following the work Marshmallow’s HOPE was doing in Rockford since 2024.
The agency asked her to provide the same services in another region of Illinois as part of its Pathways to Success program, according to Kane. She said the state selected the metro-east as an area in need.
The Pathways to Success program helps Medicaid-enrolled youth under 21 years old who have behavioral health challenges and may need support.
Too often, mental health care comes with financial and transportation barriers, Kane said.
Not wanting the facility to look like a traditional clinic, Kane designed the rooms with a cozy, home-like environment for young clients to enjoy games, movies, arts and crafts, and other activities.
The Belleville location opened Sept. 16 and is funded through grants, donations and fundraising efforts.
About Marshmallow’s HOPE
Marshmallow’s HOPE is located at 2810 Frank Scott Parkway West, Unit 812, in Belleville.
To learn more about the organization and its services, or to make an appointment, call 888-277-4028 or visit marshmallowshope.org.
If you or someone you know may be at risk, call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, text 838255 or chat 988lifeline.org.
This story was originally published June 22, 2026 at 8:57 AM.
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Jennifer Green has been with the Belleville News-Democrat since 2006. She covers restaurants and business openings/closings. Green is a 2001 graduate of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Please share tips and feedback at 618-239-2643 or jgreen@bnd.com.