New fund in memory of young Connecticut rapper is helping make mental health resources accessible to young people in inner cities

As a rising hip-hop artist out of Waterbury, Iran Brugueras Jr. introduced himself with his first album as “Splash the Pillboy,” a nod to the medications he took to control his mental illness. In his video, Brugueras struggles in school, at home and with himself. The video closes with him saying "Depression, aggression ... You never know what happens” as a hand reaches toward two options -- a gun and a dictionary.

“Splash,” who chose his art to cope with his illness, had big dreams, but those ended on June 19, 2016, when he died in a car accident at age 20.

Brugueras' father, Iran Brugueras Sr., and his stepmother, Nora Brugueras, wanted to honor their son’s memory in a way that would reflect his life and struggles. After raising $25,000 through charity softball and bowling tournaments, the Bruguerases founded the S.P.L.A.S.H. Project, with a goal of making mental health resources accessible to young people in the inner cities.

“‘No excuses’ was his motto. There should be no excuse for people having no access to treatment in the mental health realm,” Nora Brugueras said. “It was challenging for my son to have these resources.”

The project takes Brugueras' stage name and turns it into an acronym: Special People Looking & Aiming for Success & Health.

The project, through the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, bestowed its first $5,000 grant on Oct. 13, which would have been Brugueras' 24th birthday. The grant was given to Toivo Center, a Hartford nonprofit that offers holistic alternatives to traditional medical and talk therapy, including chair yoga, a writing group, meditative coloring, qigong, laughter yoga, sound healing, chakra movement, drumming and dance workshops, essential oils and others.

“We wanted to promote everything an individual needs to be successful in mental health: spirituality, empowerment, your health overall, awareness to the individual and to the family, the importance of art,” Brugueras said. “He was an artist. His art was so important to him.”

Jessica Goldman, director of Toivo, said the nonprofit, part of Advocacy Unlimited, is a peer-run organization, run by people whose lives and families have been affected by mental illness.

“We’re not here from a clinical perspective to provide therapy or clinical treatment. We provide alternatives from the standpoint of someone who knows what it’s like to be in their shoes,” she said.

Once the pandemic subsides and Toivo groups can meet in person again, the stage, which is at Toivo’s new location at 1477 Park St., will be used for Toivo’s traditional monthly open mics, and for presentations, she said.

Toivo Center will honor Brugueras by naming its new stage after him.

Supporters remember Brugueras as a talented up-and-coming artist. “I listened to some of his music and I liked it. I started playing it on Hot 93.7. The crowd started liking him so I started playing it in nightclubs. He was not old enough to be in a nightclub but his record was playing in a nightclub,” said DJ Craig G of radio station 93.7. The DJ said he still plays Brugueras' songs on the radio, especially on his birthday.

Brugueras said Iran was diagnosed with ADHD as a child and with a mood disorder as a teenager. As a young adult, he stopped treatment, she said, so his disorder never was given a final diagnosis.

Family support is the key to successful mental health treatment, but is often lacking in Latino communities, said Brugeuras, who is Puerto Rican.

“Culturally, we don’t look for help because there’s that stigma that it’s only for crazy people. It’s not something you usually do or talk about or bring it out in the open. It’s not something we were raised with, to go out and seek therapy,” she said. “Back in the day you’d deal with [mental-health issues] by suppressing your feelings, shaking it off and then going back to your life.”

Wanda Y. Correa, senior development officer at Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, worked with the Bruguerases on the S.P.L.A.S.H. Project. Correa pointed to the methods the Bruguerases used to raise money – community sports tournaments – as an example of how even people of average means can become philanthropists. She added that Latinos especially should feel encouraged by this fund.

“When thinking about Latinos in philanthropy, there is this image of Latinos being given the money. This situation is shifting the paradigm. Latinos are also philanthropists, who help not just Latinos but everybody,” Correa said. “There’s not a particular type of person – a white, male, wealthy, elderly person – who is giving. Everybody should feel like philanthropy is something they can do.”

To donate to the S.P.L.A.S.H. Project, visit www.splashproject.net.

Susan Dunne can be reached at sdunne@courant.com.

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