A night of hope. 

We’ve all had them. They can be Filled with joy, or sorrow, grief or laughter, or maybe both at the same time, in the same night, with the same hope. That’s the thing about hope, it remains a constant and stable foundation in our lives, if we let it. If we see those around us continuing to choose hope in times of distress, perhaps we’ll be less likely to shy away from the outstretched hand of a loved one, a friend, or even a stranger, when we need one. There is no shame in hope, only light, love, and a spirit that so many of us forget too easily. Founder of Here For You Clothing, Ellie Haney, has made it her mission to let us remember what it feels like to hope, and to emphasize that we are never alone in the battle that is the human condition. 

Ellie Haney founded Here For You Clothing in 2021 with the intention of spreading mental health awareness throughout her community after suffering an ongoing battle with her own mental health starting in high school. Once settled into her retail space in the heart of Downtown Fairfield, Haney and Managing Partner, Emma Kilbride, decided to use the space for more than footraffic. The message behind their brand speaks for itself through its products, but why not give it a real voice, or better yet; real voices. 

A Night of Hope was born in 2024, soon after the opening of HFY’s Brick and Mortar, and is hosted every 2-3 months. The store’s racks and tables are temporarily replaced with at least 50 folding chairs, a microphone, and some light refreshments, along with miniature journals, pens, stickers, and pamphlets highlighting local mental health resource centers for attendees. The night begins with Haney and Kilbride speaking about their personal mental health journey’s before allowing a panel of 3-4 speakers, all of different backgrounds, genders, and ages, to share their own. After each speaker has finished, Haney opens the mic to the crowd, and as the saying goes, “It just takes one.” Once one person raises their hand to openly share their story, the rest follow as if on queue. 

I was lucky enough to witness this first hand at Haney and Kilbride’s second Night of Hope Event in March 2024. The energy in the room was palpable, you could touch it, hold it, follow it on threads being used to weave the net casting over the crowd; gently but surely holding us all together. That one microphone created a bond, a safe space, a shared burden, amongst 50 complete strangers aged 10 to 70. Barriers were broken, shame was exalted, and the day that mental health is no longer considered a taboo condition began. 

Ellie Haney and Emma Kilbride run a business that’s rooted in changing and saving lives. Night of Hope is just one of many ways they are spreading awareness and building a community committed to normalizing the “abnormal.”