Recognizing that counseling might have helped prevent that suicide, a group of citizens that included current San Jose Vice Mayor Pat Dando founded the Almaden Valley Youth Counseling Service.

"We started 24 years ago as a grass-roots movement in the basement of a church," says Rocki Kramer, another founding community member, a volunteer for the service for 15 years and its executive director since 1989.

"We were originally called the Almaden Valley Youth Counseling Service, and our original mission was to serve youths and families following that teen suicide. Over the years we've expanded so we see all ages and a large number of adults and couple. But we still focus on families, schools and youths."

While the word youth was dropped from its name and AVCS moved three times and expanded its offices several times, the original mission never changed.

Kramer points to their mission statement wording—"a community where everyone has access to affordable mental-health counseling"—as both the goal and achievement of AVCS.

Today, AVCS provides both regular and emergency counseling services to six elementary schools, four middle schools and both Leland and Pioneer high schools in Almaden Valley.

Additionally, AVCS provides counseling services to adults in a variety of areas, including family and marital issues, depression and suicide risks, parent and child communications and anger management. These services are available on a sliding scale of $15 to $75 an hour, but every attempt is made to accommodate those unable to pay.

In the past year, Kramer says, they've seen a 40 percent increase in new clients.

Kramer says one reason AVCS has been able to operate on a limited budget is its role as a training program.

"To be a licensed therapist in California, you need 3,000 supervised hours, and we provide those with our training program. Currently we have 20 intern counselors we don't pay. Other agencies have had to cut back on programs, but we've never gotten government funding. We're busier than ever and still able to keep our doors open," she says.

"We're here to provide easy access and easily affordable help for all sorts of problems. That's what we truly try to do. If there had been a place 24 years ago, perhaps there wouldn't have been that suicide. You never know what you're preventing now, but now the schools have a place to go and people in the community have a place to go."

For additional information on AVCS, visit http://www.avcounseling.org or call 408.997.0200.