End The Silence!

As our first official joint act as a PEER-CENTRIC mental wellness and self-harm prevention forum, meet-up and safe-space, the Friends For Life Forum would like to excitedly invite you to join us as our peers and CO-LEADERS IN A YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH ACTIVISM INITIATIVE centered around creating a powerful video montage staring none other than our favorite people in the world: ALL OF YOU! Why you? The Friends For Life Model that this Forum is built around isn't revolutionary in and of itself, it's only a game-changer in its unique recognition of the ability and unparalleled desire of THIS GENERATION OF YOUTH to forge a future wherein we reverse the momentum of this crisis by ENDING THE SILENCE, STIGMA, SHAMING, and INACTION that is literally DEADLY and only becoming more so with each passing day. Our model is designed based on our recognition that youth-based peer-support and gatekeeping must be scaled up and implemented widely if we have any chance of turning this crisis around. Therefore our model is centered around EMPOWERING YOUTH TO FIGHT FOR THEIR OWN MENTAL WELLNESS AND SAFETY VIA PEER-BASED SUPPORT in a dual-pronged approach that attempts to ensure the maximum access to support (both individualized peer-support via the Friends For Life Duo Partnership as well as a wider peer-based gatekeeping support network provided by way of our currently forming, soon to be vibrant, diverse, and global virtual youth mental wellness and self-harm prevention-focused peer-to-peer gatekeeping support community). So in essence, we want the montage to star all of you, because we believe you, us, THIS GENERATION, has the passion, commitment, and courage to stand in their truth and bring REAL, TANGIBLE, MEANINGFUL and SUSTAINBLE CHANGE to this existential threat to the global youth population. 

To participate simply submit a photo, 3-5 second video, piece of artwork, or any other type of multi-media content: the key is a that this submission, whatever creative and multi-media form it ends up taking, clearly communicates the three simple yet oh so powerful words: “END THE SILENCE" (for inspiration check out the mini example video we put together). Anyone interested in HELPING TO PLAN, ENACT, and BE ON THE LEADERSHIP TEAM FOR THIS INITIATIVE (ESPECIALLY THOSE WITH VIDEO EDITING & PRODUCTION EXPERIENCE) are highly encouraged to reach out to our Director, Emma Aders (via chat or at info@eseforum.org), to discuss being part of the initiative leadership team and/or video production team! You can volunteer as little or as much time as you are able to the project-from simply suggesting an improvement to the campaign to becoming a full part of the video production team: we are open to people getting involved with helping us achieve a successful campaign at every level, after all this is a COMMUNITY-CENTRIC INITIATIVE and we want you all to FEEL EMPOWERED to take OWNERSHIP & LEADERSHIP OF THE PROCESSS ALONGIDE THE ADMIN TEAM!

WHAT DO WE HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH BY RELEASING THIS POWERFUL VIDEO MONTAGE? The initiative is two-fold in terms of goals we wish to accompish and we hope you will participate if you can identify with either, let alone both! 

1) Put most simply we're going to edit together a powerful video montage of as many submissions as we can gather betweeen today and July 15th. We've incuded an example video of some ESE team members convey this important message as a teaser,  but please keep in mind we hope for the final product to have up to if not over a hundred participants and it will be edited very professionally! This teaser is just a fun little example, our final video montage will be a powerful statement piece meant to change heart and minds, call certain people to action, and finally, which brings us to the 2nd reason for this initiative: 

2)To help our peers out there curently battling the singular battle that is mental illness and/or self-harm who struggle without support,they may feel that they they have no other option than the irreversable and most tragic, for all of us, but them most of all, conclusion of death by suicide. This is a thought or action many of us have faced down ourselves and know how easy it is to end up feeling like you are truly are alone and no one would care if you were to live or die. Let's make sure that those out there feeling this way today know: WE CARE: we don't want to loose you, you are our brother or sister and you are a LIGHT THIS WORLD CANNOT DUE WITHOUT, even if that is the opposite of how it feels right now! For those who have not had the fortune to travel as far along their healing paathway with their mental health struggles, seeing a video of a hundred or more of their peers standiing proud in their truth, unsilenced, unabashed, and downright proud of their authentic selves, will in and of itself be incredibly healing and may even help them feel encouraged enough to try checking out and/or joing the forum to see if they can try their hand at mutual peer-support whereas before they coudn't see a light at the end of the tunnel and we're beinging to believe there was only one way out. 

Doesn't spending 5 minutes editing a photo, recording a 3-5 second video clip or making a multi-media piece of art seem like a small price to pay to be part of something like this?! Heck, if you're creative with it, the process of creating your submission will likely be fun wihtin itself! Which brings us to another point: as this is truly a joint effort wherein you all are as much a part of creating and leading this project as is the admin team here at the forum, we want to invite anyone with VIDEO EDITING, GRAPHIC DESIGN or other relevant skillls pertaining to helping MAKE AN INCREDIBLY POWERFUL FINAL PRODUCT, to reach out to discuss being part of the LEADERSHIP TEAM ON THIS PROJECT! You can play as small or as large a role as you want, but with each minor improvment ot the PROFESIONAL & ARTISTIC QUALITY OF THE FINAL PRODUCT, THE GREATER THE CHANCES WE HAVE OF MAKING A TANGIBLE AND SIGNIFICANT IMPACT IN OUR TWO ABOVE LISTED GOALS! Interested in learning more, email Emma Aders at INFO@ESEFORUM.ORG!

Keep in mind that if YOU CAN INCLUDE YOURSELF IN THE CONTENT it will help show how many of us are bravely standing in the sun, proud of who we are and what we have survived and continue to content with each day. It will show those who perpetuate the stigma that we are not hiding in the shadows that they have tried to back us into.

We can’t wait to see the submission start coming in.

❗️Please submit to: info@eseforum.org  ❗️

We don’t have a submission deadline at present but in general, the sooner you can submit, the sooner we can edit together and produce this powerful message that will be this forum/community’s official entrance into the global youth mental health and suicide prevention world!