Mental Health Assn. Helps Itself to Support

Marty Fuca bought a raffle ticket at Friday’s Gala Wine and Travel Auction to benefit the Mental Health Assn. of Orange County, a chance for a free trip to London.

He didn’t win. But, no matter. That small purchase was a symbol of Fuca’s decision to take a chance on life, a step he said he couldn’t have taken without the services provided by the association’s Project Return, a network of self-help clubs for clients returning to the community after being hospitalized.

“I remember the feeling of confusion,” Fuca told a hushed crowd of more than 200 guests just before dinner at the Le Meridien hotel in Newport Beach. “I wanted to make scrambled eggs, but I couldn’t. I wanted to mop the floor, but I couldn’t remember how.

“I spent a lot of time thinking and plotting ways to end my life. ‘That’ll show ‘em,’ I thought. Then I went to Project Return. Welcome was the first word I heard when I walked in the door four years ago.

“You said to me, ‘You’re welcome,’ long before I had the chance to say ‘Thank you.’ Tonight, I want to say thank you, my friends. Because of you, I was able to flush eight years of stored-up medications and frustrations down the toilet. I decided I wanted to live.”

Live vs. video

After giving Fuca a misty-eyed standing ovation, supporters discreetly dabbed away tears and did their best to concentrate on the four-course meal.

“We’re trying to give the Mental Health Assn. a higher profile in the county,” explained Claire Burt, who chaired the sixth annual event. “In previous years we’ve had videos about our programs, but we thought it would be better if people could hear from a real, live human.”

Project Return is only one of the services the association provides for patients and the county’s homeless--as many as 50% of whom may be mentally ill.

“This isn’t as glamorous a cause as some, and it’s always an uphill battle,” said board president Mike Goode. “We may have to work many times harder to raise the same amount of money, but I don’t think that makes what we’re doing any less important.”

And with tough economic times, Goode said, the task of fund-raising is more difficult than ever. But inspired by Fuca and urged on by celebrity auctioneer Shawn Parr of KIK-FM radio, attendees dug deep and came up with more than $40,000 for the cause.

Sold!

A special donation of a home-cooked dinner for six by Burt and her husband Maclay, both noted gourmet cooks, brought a top bid of $750.

Other guests included Sandy, Allan and Florence Fainbarg, Andrea and Phil Northcote, Betty and William Belden-Palmer, Mary Roosevelt, Bruce Sumner, and Claire McNair.

--JAN HOFMANN

So many benefits, so little time: Broadway and film actor James Earl Jones presented Martin Luther Hospital’s first Vision Award to Disneyland on Saturday night at the Anaheim Marriott hotel. The theme park received the coveted nod because of its funding for Safe Place--the Anaheim hospital’s child abuse prevention treatment program . . . “Somewhere in Time” was the theme of the Huntington Harbour Cancer League’s 11th annual dinner dance, auction and fashion show at the Disneyland Hotel on Saturday night. Barbara Snegg was chairwoman of the event, which, since it was founded 10 years ago, has brought more than $1 million to the Orange County Unit of the American Cancer Society. . . . The Orange County Protocol Foundation staged a classic Italian dinner at Carmelo’s in Corona del Mar on Sunday. More than 120 guests mingled with Lorenzo Arcari, who represented the Italian Consulate in Los Angeles. . . . Anatomy professor Dr. James Fallon received the annual Achievement Award at a recent dinner staged by the Research Associates of UC Irvine. . . . Today and Friday, the Junior League of Orange County continues its annual Christmas Co. project at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. Up for holiday shopping: items from 40 specialty stores across the United States. Admission is $5 per person. Lunch, afternoon tea, and visits with Santa Claus are also available. For information, call: (714) 261-0823.