Dear Friends,

I founded Living Proof over a year ago, out of a pressing need to address a horrible situation. At an increasing rate, kids and young adults are killing themselves in our country, and we Americans have not been moved.

Our society has yet to fully accept a fact long since established by the medical community: the despair that leads to suicide is nearly always caused by mental illness. Knowing its cause, we can prevent suicide in many more cases.

Just as we prepare our youth for the threat of AIDS in sex education, we should prepare them for the threat of suicide in mental illness awareness programs. Sadly, we don't. Where there should be dialogue, openness and understanding, there is silence, stigma and ignorance.

Living Proof seeks to change this picture with broad strokes. Our first initiative is to produce and distribute a documentary video aimed at teens and young adults. This project has a simple, if ambitious goal: to illuminate the risk, and too often the great tragedy, of facing mental illness blindly.

Coping with mental illness is a tremendous challenge, and its onset can be an especially dangerous time. If we continue to allow ignorance and fear to exacerbate this condition, we'll be paying the price in lives.

Knowledge and compassion are the tools our kids need. I hope you join us in our efforts to increase both.