On Tuesday, February 1, 2000, just before dawn, Todd Thomas, a young man whose life had been plagued by mental illness that seemed to defy adequate diagnosis or treatment, finally could tolerate no longer, and leapt to his death from the 14th floor of the Plaza Hotel in New York.

Struggling to cope with the tragedy, WPOer Peter Thomas (Arizona Chapter), Todd's father, discovered "a whole world that I didn't know existed. More people died last year from suicide than from homicide."

To honor Todd, to raise the awareness of mental illness, and to erase the stigma associated with it, the family last year established the Todd Thomas Foundation. The foundation initiated its work with a fundraising event in Scottsdale, AZ, in January of this year. By the end of the evening, more that $1 million had been raised. Just as important, a survey of those who attended served to dramatically increase the awareness of the mental health issue. Giving their answers with handheld devises, the respondents watched video screens to learn that one in three of them were currently struggling with depression, and three of four had family members who were. Indeed, 71 percent knew someone who had attempted suicide and almost that many knew someone who had actually committed suicide. Perhaps most astounding, seven percent of the respondents themselves had attempted suicide.

The Foundation goal is to hold at least 10 similar events each year throughout the US and Canada (at least initially), raising at least $500,000 at each. A headline on the Foundation's website succinctly presents the purpose of it all: hope, research, awareness, prevention.