Editor's note: It is the policy of San Diego Gay & Lesbian News not to report suicides, except in two instances. 1) If the incident was very public and there were witnesses; and 2) If the person is well-known in the community. In this case, both exceptions occurred. Suicide is a tremendous problem in the LGBT community. If you are feeling depressed or suicidal, please call the Trevor Project's hotline toll-free at (866) 4-U-TREVOR. The Trevor Helpline is the only nationwide, around-the-clock crisis and suicide prevention helpline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth.

SAN DIEGO -- Activists in San Diego's LGBT community today are mourning the loss of Raymond "Ray" Portillos Leon, who died on the morning of Saturday, June 5, at Palomar Hospital in Escondido. He was one week shy of turning 23 years old.

His passing also fell on the anniversary of the death of Portillos Leon's brother 17 years ago, said his mother, Cynthia Macias, who lives in rural North County.

"My son was an infant when he died, and Raymond spent almost an entire year with my son and I at Children's Hospital," she said, adding that she believes Portillos Leon developed his compassionate spirit from that experience.

Portillos Leon is survived by two younger brothers.

During his short adult life, Portillos Leon was actively involved in a number of San Diego's LGBT organizations including the Stonewall Young Democrats, the Imperial Court de San Diego and San Diego Pride. He was also a familiar face at the former Universal nightclub, where he worked as a cashier at the front door for several months.

News of Portillos Leon’s untimely death was first posted on his Facebook page by cousin Corrina Salazar.

According to Salazar, Portillos Leon, who was living with his grandfather, decided to take a walk on Saturday morning. He walked to Palomar Hospital, where his mother is employed, jumped from a ninth-story balcony, and landed at the fourth-floor level.

Doctors worked for more than an hour in attempt to revive him, Salazar said, but were unsuccessful. Salazar noted that Portillos Leon’s grandfather said he seemed to be in good spirits and nothing seemed out of the ordinary when he left for his walk.

Soon after the Facebook post appeared, an outpouring of love and memories were posted to Portillos Leon’s Facebook wall by friends and others who had worked with him on various community projects and political campaigns.

Portillos Leon overcame numerous challenges in his life, including living on the streets as a teenager. He was a former resident at The Center's Youth Housing Project facility.

His mother wanted to make it clear that she always loved her son. "I grew up with my son," Macias said. "I had him when I was only 15 years old."

Macias said her son hated living in rural North County and preferred urban areas like Hillcrest. "Ray was never kicked out of our house," she said. "He ran away so many times."

While on his own and with the support of the LGBT community, Portillos Leon was able to build up his life, find a job, attend school, and serve as intern in the office of U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. According to Portillos Leon’s MySpace profile, he dreamed of becoming a U.S. senator one day.

“I didn’t know Ray the activist,” said Daniel Horan, of San Diego. “We were in a foster home together. I was a young adult at age 20 and he was 14 when he came to live in the foster home.”

Horan said he has known Ray for more than eight years. “We called ourselves foster brothers,” he said. “I lost touch with him about a month ago.”

Portillos Leon previously served on the board of directors of the Imperial Court de San Diego; was elected executive vice president of the Stonewall Young Democrats in 2008; and was a candidate to the board of directors for San Diego LGBT Pride.

Portillos Leon’s community involvement and accomplishments were numerous and impressive, friends said, and he worked hard to give back to the community that gave so much to him.

In a July 2008 letter from Portillos Leon to the editor of the Gay & Lesbian Times, he described his experience dressing up in drag. He said he did this in an attempt to “see how drag queens are treated by our own community.”

Portillos Leon described the negative treatment and harassment he received by members of the LGBT community and expressed his disappointment. He encouraged readers to “embrace all in our community,” as he was passionate about the great diversity that makes up the LGBT community and our world.

“A great loss,” said Brian Polejes, of San Diego. “This was a man who came up from the streets and served his community with pride. He was on his way to being a great community leader.”

Many in the community said they had lost touch with Portillos Leon in recent weeks. Macias tried to fill in the gap.

"He always tried to find somewhere to fit in. In his attempt to do this, he associated with some very prominent people, but also got involved with some very sleazy people," Macias said.

His mother said that in recent months, Portillos Leon's life had taken another turn.

"One night we got a call in the middle of the night from a former junior high teacher of mine," Macias said. "Raymond had been wandering around San Marcos in the middle of the night near a cemetery looking for some gay center and they found him."

The family welcomed him back, she said.

If there is a post-script to this tragic story, Macias said she wishes that there were more resources and services in North County for kids who are seeking help: "That is lacking here."

The family is organizing a viewing and memorial from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 12, at Escondido Alhiser-Comer Mortuary, 225 S. Broadway in Escondido.

Members of the local PFLAG chapter are also planning to hold a Celebration of Life for Portillos Leon at a time and location to be determined.

The PFLAG family was distressed by the news because of its connections to the young man.

PFLAG documentary “Holding Families Together”

Portillos Leon was featured in “Holding Families Together,” a short documentary by PFLAG, in which he talks about getting thrown out of the house when he came out as a young teen and how he ended up on the streets and how it impacted his life. View the documentary below.

SDGLN Editor in Chief Ken Williams contributed to this report.