Pleasanton couple helping prevent youth suicides through nonprofit work
More than 6,000 people aged 10 to 24 take their own lives each year in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A Pleasanton couple who have experienced the heartbreak firsthand is now working to bring those numbers down.
At a peaceful Pleasanton park, Xiaofang Chen and her husband, Chih-Ching Hu, trained for a marathon and discussed their future after losing their son to suicide.
"I am able to do this instead of hiding in my house because I want to carry out a mission. I want to save other people," Chen recalled.
In 2018, their son, Alan Hu, was receiving medical care for depression and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. He seemed to be improving, but then, he took his own life.
He was 15 years old. It's too difficult for his father, Chih-Ching Hu, to talk about on camera. But his mother, Xiaofang Chen describes what they set out to do next.
"We couldn't save Alan, but could save other kids. That's what Alan wanted," Chen said.
Chen and Hu started the Alan Hu Foundation to honor their son who wanted to be a psychiatrist to help others like him.
In eight years, they've organized some 40 webinars on mental health to encourage prevention and early intervention, and share the latest research and resources.
Lecture topics range from anxiety, stress and depression to mindfulness and brain health. And they're translated into Chinese. That's significant because the nonprofit aims to reduce the stigma of mental health disorders, especially among Asian American families.
"We'll remove the fear. We'll become more compassionate," Chen said.
And since 2021, the Alan Hu Foundation has awarded almost $50,000 in scholarships to nearly 80 Tri-Valley students who plan to become first responders or mental health professionals.
The money is raised by an annual benefit concert in memory of Alan, who played the cello.
Kerigan Coates, who's studying neuroscience at the University of San Diego, received a scholarship and the inspiration to keep educating people about the importance of mental health.
"I grew up playing sports and struggled with mental health around that. So, it's something I understand. And I want more people to feel like it's OK to address," Coates said.
Foundation board treasurer Mark Rahman, a volunteer with the National Alliance on Mental Illness Tri Valley who also lost a child to suicide, supports Alan's parents' mission to bring good from their grief.
"They're fantastic. They're the best people I've ever met," Rahman said. "Any kind of meaning you can make out of that is really good and it becomes a life's passion."
Today, Chen and Hu respond to other parents' desperate cries for help. Parents call and tell them, "I want to save my kid. Please help me," Chen said.
She shared the joy of a recent family who got the help they needed.
"That kid was back on track. That was super gratifying," she smiled.
She believes Alan would be proud.
"He'd say, 'Good job, Mom and Dad,'" she nodded.
So, for saving young lives through the Alan Hu Foundation, this week's CBS News Bay Area ICON Award goes to Xiaofang Chen and Chih-Ching Hu.
