Advocates gathered at the Rhode Island Statehouse Tuesday to raise awareness about mental illness at start of Mental Health Month. Among those speaking was the brother of a Harvard graduate and professional hockey player from Warwick who took his own life.

Thomas G. Cavanagh was 28 years old when he died in 2011. His brother, Paul, described how Tom struggled to manage his schizophrenia. After he spoke, Paul and his mother, Carol Cavanagh, told Rhode Island Public Radio’s health reporter Lynn Arditi about the hurdles they faced getting Tom help.    

Paul Cavanagh and his mother, Carol, outside the RI Statehouse following an event to mark the start of Mental Health Month

Lynn joined The Public's Radio as health reporter in 2017 after more than three decades as a journalist, including 28 years at The Providence Journal. Her series "A 911 Emergency," a project of the 2019...