Mother Aims To Open Up Dialogue About Mental Health After Losing Daughter

(CBSNewYork) -- Robin Williams' tragic suicide and the circumstances surrounding it are all too familiar for one Long Island mother who lost her daughter several years ago.

Linda Rossi knows first-hand what a decade-long struggle with depression can do to a person; it caused her 26-year-old daughter to commit suicide in 2006.

"She tried everything. Chrissy just wanted to be happy," Rossi said.

While going through her daughter's belongings, Rossi found dozens of articles on mental illness that Chrissy had clipped.

As WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported, it moved Rossi to found Chrissy's Wish, a non-profit organization that raises funds for mental health research.

"There's a stigma of mental illness because mental illness is not something that you can x-ray and see," she said.

"It is an actual illness," Rossi said. "Let's open up the dialogue and get these people the help they need."

A charity golf outing will be held on Aug. 22 for Chrissy's Wish at the Rock Hill Golf and Country Club in Manorville, N.Y.

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