Last October Matthew Rhinehart, for unknown reasons, decided to take his life. He was one of the 33 people who committed suicide in St. Tammany Parish last year.

His sister, Leigh “Safira” Dokos was the first person on the scene and was comforted greatly when two volunteers, who she learned later were volunteers with the St. Tammany Outreach for the Prevent of Suicide, showed up to help her deal with the situation.

She said since then, the organization has continued to help her family deal with the aftermath and emotions that have followed her brother’s death.

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Her mother regularly attends the SOS, Survivors of Suicide, support group and has also attended other support opportunities for mothers of suicide victims.

Her younger siblings have attended counseling that was provided for by STOPS.

“The organization has done so much for my family,” Dokos said, adding that she was bothered when she heard about the lack of funding for the organization and began looking for ways she could help give back a little of what the organization has given to her family.

“It has done so much for my mom, especially to have someone to talk to,” she said.

Dokos said being a single mom and a business owner, she had little free time to give back as a volunteer, but she thought there was one thing she could do. She could dance.

Dokos is the owner of All Points Belly dance in Mandeville.

On Friday night, she partnered with Jacquie Warden, owner of Pandorium Belly dance in Covington, to put on a benefit show at KC Babycakes in Mandeville.

The two put on the Art in Motion Hafla and charged $10 per guest admission.

Half of the proceeds, or just over $300, is being donated to STOPS.

She said it is not much, and she would like to have raised more, but she plans to hold more benefits in the future and hopes the idea will grow.

Dokos said she hopes to host a benefit Hafla at least once a year if not once a quarter.

James Hartman, board member of STOPS, said any funds and exposure the organization can get is welcomed.

He added that unfortunately the number of suicides in unincorporated St. Tammany Parish for 2010 has already reached 26, indicating that this year’s total will surpass last year’s number.

He said STOPS does not have any designating funding sources, and any money it receives through fundraisers and donations is used for three purposes – awareness, training and response.

STOPS has no paid employees and relies solely on volunteers, many of which are family members of suicide victims.

STOPS trains people on how to recognize the early warning signs of suicide and the basic non-clinical ways to intervene. Volunteers respond in pairs, like they did in the case of Dokos’ brother, to the scene of a suicide. Hartman said many of these volunteers are people who have experienced suicides in their own families.

He added that part of what STOPS battles is the stigma surrounding suicide.

“People need to understand there is no shame in seeking help for stress or depression,” he said.

He is making himself available to speak on the subject at any group free of charge. A speaking arrangement can be made by calling his office at 504-267-9406 or e-mailing james@ jameshartman.net.

The group is also having another fundraiser on Aug. 27 at Benedict’s Restaurant.

Following Hurricane Katrina as a way to give people a reason to laugh, Comic Relief, will include dinner as well as a performance by comedian James Cusimano and keynote speaker Sen. Jack Donahue. Tickets are $60 per person or $540 for a table of five. Money raised at this event will benefit STOPS as well as the Mental Health Association of St. Tammany Parish and the National Alliance for Mental Illness’s St. Tammany Chapter.

“Every dollar counts,” Hartman said. “The more money we have the more we can do.”

Dokos said putting on Friday evening’s performance has been “part of the healing process” for her.

She said even though she “gets it” when it comes to her brother’s suicide, she was still left with the feeling that she “should have been able to do something.”

She said Friday’s performance fundraiser was her “way of felling like I could do something.”

She said not only did it help raise money for a cause very close to her heart, but it also helped to break the stigma that has formed around suicide as well as the stigma that surrounds belly dancing.

“It helped us to combat a serious negative stereotype,” she said, adding that she got involved with belly dancing when seeking a more entertaining way to exercise after giving birth to her son.