PSA: Talking Saves Lives

PSA: THE BIGGER PICTURE

Music Support has amassed a plethora of industry supporters including: Brilliant’s Adam ‘Bullet’ Bettley; Dream Wife’s Bella Podpadec; Distiller’s Andy Granelli; FOH Engineer, Mike Woodhouse with Lighting Designer & Hot Milk Frontman, James Shaw; Production Manager, Jim Digby; Eagles of DM’s Jorma Vic.

TALKING SAVES LIVES

Ill mental health, addiction and death by suicide are issues which plague the music industry. With a number of initiatives including Music Support’s Safe Hubs, and a peer-to-peer helpline which will expand into the northern UK next year, more lives than ever are being saved.

People working in the music industry are three times more likely to experience mental health problems than the general population. With mental health affecting approximately 36,000 people per year in the industry, everyone from musicians and road crew, to artist managers and multiple occupations in between is at risk.

Road crew worldwide experience mental health difficulties. Entertainment Assist, an Australian-based support hub, documented in 2017: “In the past 12 months, Australian entertainment industry workers experienced suicide ideation five to seven times more than the general population, and two to three times more over a lifetime. In the past 12 months, road crew members experienced suicide ideation almost nine times more than the general population. Rates of suicide ideation, planning and attempts are extremely high and indicate a need for early intervention programmes tailored to the industry.”

Each year, suicide is listed in the top 20 causes of loss of life globally for people of all ages and is responsible for more than 800,000 deaths – that’s a lost life every 40 seconds.

World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) takes place on 10 September annually, closely followed by World Mental Health Awareness Day on 10 October. Key dates in the calendar, the days help to open conversations and break the stigma surrounding mental health. According to WSPD research: “For each suicide, approximately 135 people suffer intense grief or are otherwise affected. This amounts to 108 million people per year who are profoundly impacted by suicidal behaviour.”

Touring Director and Production Manager, Jim Digby has worked with Linkin Park for more than 16 years. The loss of the band’s frontman, Chester

Bennington, in July 2017, had a devastating impact. “The very personal nature of mental health and emotional wellbeing makes it hard to observe when one is suffering – sometimes we don’t even recognise it in ourselves,” he said. “As we continue to enable and empower these types of discussions, it will be critical to have resources that are familiar, not only within the field of mental health, but with the trappings of working inside our glorious endeavours.

“Music Support is such an entity, encouraging healthy dialogue, destigmatising perceptions of mental health and providing resources to both proactively and passively engage. We’re all human, and humans need each other to be at our strongest. This mission is crucial as we find new ways to look after one another,” he commented.

Music Support helps individuals in any area of the UK music industry suffering from mental, emotional and behavioural health challenges (including, but not limited to, alcohol and drug addiction). The helpline has become a vital component in helping to save lives.

All of Music Support’s helpline volunteers have personal experience of either working in the music industry or of being close to someone affected by addiction and/or mental health issues. All volunteers have attended rigorous courses, including Mental Health First Aid training.

Currently, a volunteer staff of 15 help music professionals in need, and in crisis. For World Suicide Prevention Day this year, Music Support ramped up recruitment for its essential helpline, resulting in a potential further 16 volunteers joining the team – once they’ve passed the necessary assessments. For 2020, the charity is looking to expand its efforts into the north of the UK. By diversifying its volunteer pool Music Support will be able to provide call handlers with a familiar accent for northern callers, giving an extra layer of comfort and connection.

When it was set up in 2016, Music Support’s ‘for the Industry, by the industry’ philosophy began to change the way the UK music industry approached mental health and, since then, hundreds of people have been helped. Critically, the Music Support volunteers also penetrate British festival season via Safe Hubs. The Hubs are hosted backstage at festivals across the UK as a means of addressing any needs that can arise during the often-stressful summer touring season.

Festivals in particular have numerous time constraints, added pressures and can also be a difficult atmosphere for those in recovery. The Hubs provide a safe space for anyone working on or off stage to speak confidentially with a trained music industry peer. Knowing there is a judgement-free zone where crew and artists can seek support has proved very helpful. The Safe Hubs are also an alcohol and drug-free environment, where anyone can take a break.

This year, Music Support managed Safe Hubs at Download, BST Hyde Park, Latitude and Reading and Leeds. Wireless and elrowTown festivals were presented with Outreach Programmes, meaning where a Safe Hub could not be allocated on site, the team was still within reach for confidential chats.

You Me At Six frontman Josh Franceschi opened up about his experiences with mental health and explained how the service was beneficial to him. “Music Support came to my aid through recommendation from my manager when I was in a bad way,” he revealed.

“It certainly felt like I’d hit rock bottom. The person I spoke to [at Music Support] felt like the only person around that understood my emotions… Maybe even more so than I understood them myself. They helped me to compartmentalise my issues and recognise warning signs and trigger points. Their help was life changing.” Lighting Designer and Production

Manager, Luke Edwards has also experienced how Music Support’s volunteers can help.

“People are starting to understand that looking after your mental health is just as – if not more – important as looking after your physical health,” he said. “Having a peer-to-peer helpline is critical because Music Support’s volunteers are industry people who genuinely understand.”

Bella Podpadec, bassist with London-based rock trio Dream Wife, also championed the charity. “Working in music comes with a very specific set of pressures, stresses, joys, highs and lows,” she said. “It’s a rollercoaster. No one is here to take an easy option. As I understand it, the function of music socially and the reason that it is so rewarding is the bringing together of people, providing support and shared experience.

“Yet the pressures and demands of working in this industry can also see individuals isolated and burned out,” she continued. “Peer support is so deeply important within these networks, as these are the people who understand why we put ourselves through these things. The more we can communicate about what makes this hard, about how doing this thing we love actually messes us up, the closer we will be to healing ourselves, each other and the structures that govern us. That’s why I believe the Music Support helpline is so important to our industry.”

Music Support Founding Trustee, Matt Thomas, added: “Our exceptional volunteers are the heart and soul of Music Support and make a massive difference to our callers in their time of great need and vulnerability. Music Support couldn’t provide its services without them.”

If you are interested in becoming a Music Support Helpline Volunteer in 2020, please call 020 39486777 or email info@musicsupport.org. If you are experiencing difficulties, please call the confidential helpline: 0800 030 6789.

TPi

www.musicsupport.org

www.psa.org.uk