Suicide is a preventable mental health crisis, but not many people are willing to talk about the problem. With suicide completion rates surging to a 30-year high it has become the second leading cause of death amongst 12-24 year olds.ĭespite its effect, mental illness is the lowest funded disease in America. alone, 121 people complete suicide daily. Hope For The Day was created as a way to honor not only Mike, but all the friends and family members Jonny knew who had died by suicide.Īccording to the movement's website, over 800,000 people complete suicide every year across the world, with exponentially more going unreported. He was the 9th person Jonny knew to have done so. In 2010, Jonny’s boss and mentor, music festival promoter Mike Scanland, completed suicide. Hope For The Day is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit founded in 2011 by Jonathan Boucher, who grew up just north of Chicago and got involved in the music industry at age 13 by putting on punk metal shows while creating community spaces where people felt they could belong. Harmonium ensures that sobriety has a welcome place at music festivals and that the main draw of these festivals remains the music and memories. Now, Harmonium typically has lounges and tents at festivals for those involved in the organization who want to remain sober as well as anyone else at the festival as a place to relax and reaffirm their mission. Further, by forming a community of like-minded individuals, Harmonium is able to lessen the feeling of alienation that many sober people can feel as hundreds of people around them indulge in drugs and alcohol throughout the festival. Most members of the group are recovering from substance abuse problems but all they require for inclusion is a basic desire to remain sober while still enjoying what music festivals have to offer. Harmonium puts forth a message of compassion, not condemnation. Importantly, the group is not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous and holds a non-judgemental stance on any and all substances. Harmonium is a non-profit that was created at the Bonnaroo Arts & Music Festival in 2002 to build a community of support for those who want to remain clean and sober during music festivals. Sobriety is a hard battle to win and when you add the temptations that are plentiful at music festivals - alcohol, drugs and everything in between - it can quickly become a more negative experience than a positive one. Mental health, anti-harassment, environmental awareness and sobriety now have a place at festivals, providing fans with ways to get involved and give back to the world around them while still enjoying the music.
Bonnaroo, Coachella and Lollapalooza have all sponsored numerous initiatives advocating for social change at their events. In recent years, this sense of community has been bolstered by the presence of local nonprofits and charitable causes at some of the world’s largest music festivals. M usic festivals are a huge part of Chicago’s summer calendar and an amazing opportunity for people to have fun and come together as a community. By: Jake Bolling & Lacey Latch July 29, 2019
0 kommentar(er)
