Mission

To prevent suicide, support positive changes to mental health care, provide individual and family support for those struggling with mental illness, and remove the stigma associated with it.

Purpose

To end youth suicide.

 

@djma/Adobe StockThe JEM Foundation was founded in memory of Jacob Edward Machovsky who was lost to suicide on January 11, 2016. We exist to honor him by helping others.

At The JEM Foundation we all have the same goal; to improve the lives of those struggling with mental illness, while providing support for loved ones. It can present challenges for the entire family and we want to be there for everyone.

Our purpose is to prevent youth suicide and end the stigma of mental illness. We know this may seem insurmountable, but we know it can be done, together. Why do we do what we do? At JEM we know the pain associated with depression and anxiety. The founders Denise and Ben lost their son to suicide on January 11, 2016. They, along with everyone at JEM are on a mission to ensure that no other family feels the pain associated with suicide and that no one has to battle any form of mental illness alone and without proper treatment. A big part of this is changing the perception around mental illness. It is an illness, and it isn’t something you can just snap out of.

About Jake

You would have liked Jake, everyone did. He had a passion for airplanes and loved to eat. There wasn’t much he didn’t like when it came to food. He had such reverence and respect for our military and our first responders. In fact, his dream was to be an Air Force pilot. He was never happier than when he was flying, posting videos for his YouTube channel, or playing with his adored dog Loki.

I can still see his smirk when I would give him a hug and a kiss. I still hear the tone of his voice when he said, “maaaaaaaaahm,” in that drawn out, exaggerated way that is equal parts embarrassment and resigned acceptance. He was a teen boy and didn’t need hugs and kisses from his mother. These vivid recollections are among the priceless, precious moments in a collection of finite memories that will have to sustain me for the remainder of my life.

Jake was severely bullied in elementary school and he never forgot what that was like. Despite the challenges he faced as a young child, he had a lot of friends in high school and, true to his character, he always stood up for the kids being bullied and the teen hiding in the corner. He was fiercely protective never wanted any other kid to feel the pain associated with bullying.

Jake struggled with bipolar disorder but most people didn’t know about his struggles with mental illness. He was the kid with the mask, smiling, laughing, and taking care of everyone else. We knew his struggles at home, but he tried to hide them from the outside world. I am still haunted by the heartbreaking memory of Jake after one of his bipolar episodes when he devastatingly stated “mom, I am a monster. It broke my heart and I just hugged him and told him that nothing could be further from the truth, something is wrong and we just need to figure out what that is and get it fixed. I wish he could have seen past the lies his mental illness made him believe about himself because he was so much more than his illness. He was full of life, loved hockey, and wanted nothing more than to fly and serve his country. You really would have liked Jake…I take that back, you would have loved Jake.

September Suicide Awareness Month 2019

PHOENIX (KSAZ) – On Thursday, a Chandler teenager named Jacob would have turned 16 years old. His mother is now pushing for changes that she believes could have saved her son’s life.

At 9-years-old, Jacob found his passion.”Hey guys, it’s the Admack here,” he said in a YouTube video. “I look forward to Mondays and seeing if anyone liked my videos.”

People did with more than 200 subscribers on his YouTube channel, where for six years he posted hundreds of videos made in his studio in his bedroom. A bedroom that’s now a place for his grieving mother to find peace.

“I feel him here… I feel him a lot of places, but there are times I can come in here and I can smell him, so in that sense, I feel a connection with him,” Denise said.

On Denise’s birthday in January, she found 15-year-old Jacob had taken his life after years of battling depression, and two suicide attempts, with his last coming months just before he died.

“I feel like had the second time we had admitted him… had they really kept him until they could see the effect the medication was having whether it was working or whether it wasn’t working, I would have had my son,” she said. In Arizona, insurance companies make the final decision on how many days they will cover hospitalization. For Jacob, it was five and his mother thinks it should have been at least 60.

“I know for some people that sounds like a lot, but if you think about the amount of time it takes anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medication to work, it’s six-to-eight-weeks minimum,” she said.

So Denise started a change.org petition to prevent insurance companies from limiting coverage for mental illness, which allows people to be hospitalized as long as they need it.

“I feel we owe it to our kids,” she said. “Money should not be an issue here. It’s about saving our kid’s lives.”

UPDATE: On Jake’s Law was passed and signed into law on March 3rd, 2020. Check out the video here>