MENTAL ILLNESS CLAIMED TALENTED PERFORMER FAMILY HOPES
TO RAISE AWARENESS BY SHARING ZEYN ALI'S TRAGIC STORY

As she prepared a late-night tea for him, Shameine Ali recalls sensing
something wasn't quite right with her 25-year-old son Zeyn.

"He looked a little uneasy, a little uncomfortable. I asked him if
everything was OK...I made him his cup of tea, I hugged him and I went
to bed."

It would prove to be a tragic early Jan. 16 morning for the talented
Richmond-raised actor and singer, who died of a fall from the downtown
Vancouver highrise apartment he shared with his brother Zaven and mother.

Shameine contacted The Richmond Review this week to share her son's
heartbreaking story in the hope that Zeyn's recent struggle with
mental illness will help raise public awareness about the condition
which affects so many.

Zeyn wasn't in a hit-and-run accident--as first reported by the
Vancouver Police. He'd actually stepped out of the window of his 16th
floor bedroom.

"It was the monster of mental illness that took my son's life," she
said.

Zeyn suffered from psychosis, or mental conditions characterized by a
loss of contact with reality, that can take the form of paranoia,
delusions hallucinations or disorganized thoughts.

He was first hospitalized in the summer of 2004, and Shameine believes
the trigger for his first psychotic episode was the cumulative
emotional impact of the deaths of four people very close to him over a
short period of time.

Most researchers believe that the cause of psychosis, which first
strike young adults between 15 and 25 years of age, is rooted in both
genetic and environmental factors, including stress. Also implicated
by a growing number of scientific studies is drug use.

Zeyn's grandmother, with whom he shared a very close bond, died in
August 2004, just six months after leukemia claimed Zeyn's acting
mentor and friend Carl Anderson, who portrayed Judas Iscariot in the
touring rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar in which Zeyn played an
apostle. Zeyn's father died of a brain aneurysm in 2002 and he'd also
recently lost his grandfather.

"In all these cases he wasn't able to connect, to go back home for the
funerals because he was always on stage. When you're on stage, you
can't leave a show," Shameine said this week.

Two months after the end of the national tour of Jesus Christ
Superstar in the summer of 2004, Shameine noticed her son became very
introspective, immersing himself in quiet work on the computer.

"I thought that this is the ups and downs of an actor. You're on a
high, you get a job, you come back home for a whole summer break not
knowing when your next job is. He seemed to be depressed. That's the
only indication I had."

While at her mother's funeral in Trinidad, Zeyn began to behave
unusually in August 2004. He sent a cousin an e-mail that made no
sense, moved his mattress into his brother's room because he didn't
want to be alone, and then made some curious visits to friends, who
couldn't understand what he was talking about.

"I think people have to know these signs of mental
illness."

Eventually, after scaling the fence of the Buddhist Temple on
Steveston Highway, Zeyn was admitted to the psychiatric ward at
Richmond Hospital.

But Zeyn made solid progress in his treatment in the months following
his hospitalization. Last year, he was selected to go to Toronto,
making it into the top 100 in the Canadian Idol singing competition.
He'd secured a gig as principal singer on a major cruise ship, which
was set to start one month after his death.

"It's like another mind was directing his body. This is not any Zeyn
we know. This is not the Zeyn who lived life to the fullest, who loved
people, who loved his life, who had a beautiful spirit."

Dr. Mellisa Fahy, a consulting psychiatrist with the
Vancouver/Richmond Early Psychosis Intervention Program, said in young
adults already vulnerable to psychosis, drugs like marijuana can
trigger the psychosis. In those who have it, these drugs will
exacerbate the symptoms and even cause a relapse.

"Early intervention is the key," she said, adding that treatment
includes anti-psychotic medication, psycho-social rehabilitation and
education.

She said a lack of funding means there aren't enough resources
available to those who need help.

Shameine and her family intend to establish the Zeyn Ali Foundation,
and will soon embark on a fundraising campaign with the goal of
providing scholarships for aspiring entertainers. As well, she'd also
like to raise enough money to create transitional housing for people
suffering from psychosis.

Efforts are being made to release Zeyn's debut CD later this year,
with proceeds going to the foundation. Those interested in assisting
the fundraising efforts can e-mail rememberzeyn@shaw.ca.

Shameine's family moved from Trinidad 17 years ago to live in
Richmond, a city they called home until last year.

Zeyn was just eight when he made his first foray into entertaining, as
he joined the Connaught Figure Skating Club.

It was in the early 1990s, as an elementary school student, that he
watched Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat starring Donny
Osmond as Joseph, a role he would eventually get in a Theatre Under
the Stars production of the musical.

"He fell in love with it and decided that's what he wanted to do."

Zeyn was a founding member of the Richmond-based performing choir
Sound Sensation.