Money That Really Matters

More than $15,000 was raised on Sunday during a show of classic cars and lifted trucks organized by friends and family of the late Tyler Valcich of Montauk, who died in May of an apparent suicide. All of the money is to be set aside for mental health services for young people here through the Greater East Hampton Education Foundation. Those involved in what is planned as an annual event deserve a big round of applause for turning a personal tragedy into something good to the extent possible under the circumstances.

The sum raised so far in Mr. Valcich’s name is to be targeted for counseling and preventing young people’s lives from reaching a point of crisis. Though $15,000 may not seem like all that much these days, by the standards with which public mental health services for all people, not just the young, are funded, it is a considerable amount and bodes well.

As far as options for troubled students go, things have been improving here since the 2012 suicide of 16-year-old David Hernandez Barros. There has been a slight increase in funding from the state for the South Fork, and some additional money has been put in school budgets, though far from enough.

Separately, Paddlers for Humanity announced earlier this month that it was giving $80,000 to several South Fork schools to help combat bullying and provide intervention services. Such gifts are essential as districts make tough choices in an effort to stay within the state’s annual 2-percent tax-levy cap. Private donations, like those that came in during Sunday’s car show, may mean the most because they not only help pay for services but remind officials that young minds matter and that there is a wide constituency watching and paying attention now.

Outside observers may never really know whether these contributions and the efforts made pay off in the end, mental health being a deeply private matter. But doing all we can is the only choice for educators, health professionals, and the community.