HeartSupport

HeartSupport is a mental health-based non-profit organization that offers peer support to help individuals within the metal community who struggle with their mental health. The non-profit was founded by Jake Luhrs, vocalist of the band August Burns Red, in 2011. Their mission statement is "Heal The Scene".

History

HeartSupport was founded by Jake Luhrs in 2011 after fans shared their personal traumas with him while he ran August Burns Red's merch booth. Inspired by these conversations, Luhrs wanted to create a supportive community where people, including fans he had already connected with, could share their stories.

In 2013, HeartSupport toured with August Burns Red during the Vans Warped Tour of that year.

In 2016, HeartSupport's founder, Jake Luhrs, won the Artist Philanthropic Award at the APMA Awards for his work with the organization.

In a 2020 ''Revolver'' article, it was reported that HeartSupport had six full-time employees, over a hundred volunteers, and approximately five hundred thousand users per month interacting with the nonprofit through its support forum and social media.

HeartSupport organized a Twitch live stream in support of World Suicide Prevention Day in 2021, titled ''Choose Life''. The stream featured performances and interviews from musical artists such as Brian Welch, Lacey Sturm, We Came as Romans, and more.

In 2023, the organization hosted HeartSupport Fest in Orlando, Florida. The event was a mission-based metal music festival focusing on "diversity, acceptance, inclusion, self-love and self-care, and mental health as priority." The festival was headlined by Rise Against and Parkway Drive.

Peer Support Programs

Support Calls

In March 2024, HeartSupport merged with Beneath the Skin (founded by Brittany Mullins, wife of Memphis May Fire's vocalist Matty Mullins), an organization that provided peer support to women seeking to improve their mental health through monthly one-on-one support calls, keeping the HeartSupport name. After updating the format of this program, it now consists of offering one entire year of peer support through weekly online calls, from a trained volunteer to another music fan who is paired to them based on music preferences, life experiences, age, etc.

Support Wall

HeartSupport is active on their YouTube channel. Since 2023, their content focuses on a licensed therapist who analyzes the emotional elements behind the lyrics of songs and the visual aspects of their music videos. Prior to this content, the channel hosted interviews with musicians in the metal scene, where the primary topic of discussion revolves around their struggles with their mental health. Past interviewees include Jesse Leach, Andy Biersack, and Ryan Kirby of Fit for a King. In 2019, the organization released a mini-documentary about As I Lay Dying and the band's vocalist Tim Lambesis, titled ''Misery Evolving''. The documentary focuses on the personal side of the band, detailing Lambesis' prison sentence, his rehabilitation, and how those actions affected the band.

The content created on Youtube is aimed at encouraging music fans to open up about their mental health, and offer them peer support. Each of these videos is linked to a unique technology created by Heartsupport, connected to several social platforms (Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Discord, Twitch). When a music fan opens up about their struggles in the comments of Heartsupport's Youtube videos, a support topic is created on their volunteer-based platform, the Support Wall. Since 2021, trained volunteers who are part of the Support Wall program meet every week through online meetings to offer written responses of encouragement to the people who opened up about their mental health on social platforms.

References

External links

* {{ProPublicaNonprofitExplorer, 464342239

Charity Navigator profile

Organizations established in 2011
Non-profit organizations based in Texas