FORT LANGLEY - Robin Williams's suicide brings to light the reality that even the funniest people in the world might not be laughing on the inside.
As a tribute to the comedy legend, Chief Sepass Theatre's manager Kevin Statham is hosting a fundraiser to generate "much needed" money for Suicide Prevention, Education and Counselling (SPEAC), a Surrey-based program providing counselling services to children and youth in Langley, Surrey and White Rock."I just knew I needed to contribute in some way," said Statham. "When Robin Williams passed away a few weeks ago, I saw a lot of people voicing their sadness through social media. I did that as well, but I wanted to do something more than post a photo on Facebook with a sad emoticon. In that moment, I decided to create something that will hopefully have a positive effect on a local level."At least half dozen Vancouver comedians are going to be performing at what Statham dubbed "LOL For Life," at the Fort Langley theatre on Friday, Sept. 26, at 8 p.m. The lineup includes Patrick Maliha, Sunee Dhaliwal, John Beuhler, Jamie Hutchinson, Kwasi Thomas and Katie-Ellen Humphries.Tickets are $20 and available in advance at Northerntickets. com, with proceeds going to the SPEAC program that provides suiciderisk assessment, urgent response, and shortterm counselling for children and youth. SPEAC is grateful for the partnership, said senior program manager Nancy Orlikow."It helps to promote and spread awareness of the significant need for more resources for our children and youth in our communities who are affected by or are at risk for suicide," she said. "It is very important that people understand the scope of the need, but also that prevention of suicide is entirely possible and that programs like ours do save lives."For more information on SPEAC, visit Options.bc.ca.Langley Advance