It’s been just over a year since Alex McLaughlin ended his life.

His mother, Liz, says some days are better than others.

“There's a permanent hole in our hearts that's never going to go away,” she says.

The 23-year-old died last April, one week before he was to graduate from university.

He played basketball for Acadia. In his memory, his family is raising money by hosting the Alex McLaughlin Memorial Basketball Tournament with the proceeds going towards the Student Athlete Mental Health Initiative.

Alex’s brother, Peter, says the tournament was created to help student athletes in similar situations as Alex.

“It gives us a chance to feel like we're able to try to help other people not have to go through what we did,” he says.

The McLaughlin’s are a family of basketball players. Whether they’re on the court or manning the scoreboard, they’re all taking part.

“We just wanted to bring his friends together in a way that would mean something to him,” says Liz.

The McLaughlin’s say the idea started around the dinner table. It’s now a tournament with 16 teams from across Atlantic Canada.

“It's just something that's very dear to us as athletes,” says UNB student and tournament participant Awo Farah. “We get asked, 'How's your body? How's your ankle? Do you need tape there?' But nobody says, 'How's your mental health?'”

That’s exactly why Krista Van Slingerland started the Student Athlete Mental Health Initiative.

“I struggled with my own mental health during my university basketball career,” she says.

Van Slingerland now plays for the University of Ottawa. She’s thrilled her organization will be the recipient of the money raised.

“This is a huge opportunity for us to really get off the ground, and start making things that don't exist for this niche population,” she says.

This is the second year for the event, with last year’s raising $18,000. In addition to the money raised, the McLaughlin’s hope to start a conversation.

“It's ok for students to come forward and say, 'you know, I'm playing basketball, I'm playing hockey, I'm playing whatever, but it's tough and I'm struggling,’” says Liz.

They say there were plenty of people who would have helped Alex if only he asked.

“We had no idea that he had feelings of depression,” says Liz. “That's what we've been trying to tell everybody – that depression is treatable, suicide is forever.”

Services can be accessed online at www.gethelpnow.ca and through a 24-7 provincial mental health crisis hotline at 1-888-429-8167.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kayla Hounsell.