One Month After Filming It Gets Better Video 19-Year-Old EricJames Commits Suicide

Eric James Borges, 19, of Visalia, California, succumbed to suicide Wednesday, January 11, 2012. Jim Reeves, a Queer Landia blogger, reports that known as EricJames to his friends, he was an intern with the Trevor Project, and a Supplemental instructor at the College of the Sequoias. Word began spreading late Wednesday among shocked and saddened friends and acquaintances. Not accepted by his birth family, EricJames was striking out on his own, trying to deal with his personal situation, but also wanting to help others. EricJames' suicide arrives one month after his involvement with the It Gets Better campaign, his video above. Reeves writes that he “met EricJames recently, at the launching of My LGBT Plus, a youth oriented resource site, based in Fresno, California. A brief introduction left me with the impression of a fine young man, and I regret that I did not get to know him better.” Friends have begun planning a memorial; details will be updated here as they become available.