Aubrey Clark was 22 years old in 2005 when she died due to complications of an eating disorder that began when she was in middle school. Dennis Wilson, a friend of the family, felt “a powerful sense of duty” as he sat in the funeral home, and he formed a nonprofit in Clark’s honor to help prevent others from losing a loved one to an eating disorder. Wilson was honored at the State Capitol earlier this week for his work.
Wilson, founder of the Aubrey’s Song Foundation (ASF), was a recipient of the Kentucky Eating Disorder Council’s (KEDC) Champion Award for Community Awareness.
From 1999 to 2005, Wilson followed the struggle of his closest friends, the Clark family, as they sought medical help for their daughter Aubrey.
According to the Foundation website, Clark’s battle with disordered eating began when she was in middle school and went undetected for years because she kept it a secret. By the time she was diagnosed, Clark was in critical health and required intensive in-patient treatment.
“Because Kentucky had no treatment providers, resources, or facilities in the state, (Wilson) watched the emotional strain and financial toll it took on (Clark’s) parents to send her out of state, and the downward spiral of her health,” a release from the nonprofit said.
Over a 4-year period, Clark was in and out of treatment centers in four different states. However, her illness was discovered too late and Clark lost her battle in September 2005. Wilson founded the nonprofit in November, but the idea formed as he saw what the Clark family was going through.
“(ASF) was born out of pain and anguish as a simple man watched his good friends suffer so greatly,” Wilson said. “… As I sat in the funeral home, waiting for the family to make arrangements for their daughter and sister, I felt a powerful sense of duty. A duty to do something, anything, to try to protect other families from having to go through what our friends were experiencing.”
Wilson said he did not recognize it at that moment, but later felt that it was God who put that burden on his heart.
“Having never been called to do something like this I did not know where to begin,” he said. “So, I just meditated on this for a time. I believe it was some days later, I told the family what I had felt and asked their permission to begin a foundation in Aubrey’s memory to do something to fulfill this call.”
The family agreed, and Wilson took inspiration from the song his son had written out of despair just a few days earlier, “Aubrey’s Song.”
“I had no idea where this would lead but I felt with God’s calling and blessing this seed would germinate, take root, and grow into something Hd had in mind,” Wilson said.
Nearly two decades later, the grassroots movement has grown and evolved. Carolyn Ferber was named the first executive director of the nonprofit in 2019.
“Our goal is to raise awareness about eating disorders and do what we can to get the word out in the community,” Ferber said in a March 2023 interview with Owensboro Times. “We’re constantly searching for opportunities to educate the community through events and health fairs.”
The organization serves individuals and families from all over the tri-state. To learn more about ASF, visit their website here.
The KY Eating Disorder Council, a part of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS), was established in July 2020 to oversee the development and implementation of eating disorder awareness, identify strategies for improving access to adequate diagnosis and treatment services, and collaborate and coordinate with the KY Cabinet of Health and Family Services on data research related to eating disorders.
