LOS ANGELES — Pineapple Support, the adult industry’s leading mental health resource, is to host a webinar to discuss suicidality and suicide prevention, with a focus on harm-reduction. The “Suicide Prevention: Awareness, Education, and Strategies to Reduce Risk” webinar, sponsored by the Free Speech Coalition, will be hosted by licensed social worker Sarah Kelleher on Friday, September 10th, at 3 p.m. EST.
“This webinar will explore education and awareness surrounding suicide and prevention, as well as strategies to help you and loved ones cope and reduce risk," says Kelleher. "Together, we'll explore the current language and tactics surrounding suicide and how prevention can look during a pandemic, when our go-to community and services may be on hold. It's important to note that this webinar discusses themes that some listeners may find upsetting."
"The past few months have been stressful for many in our industry, and everyone should be aware of the warning signs of someone in crisis," says Michelle LeBlanc, CEO of Free Speech Coalition. "Over the past few years, FSC has worked hard to build up resources for performers and creators through our INSPIRE program. As part of that, it’s essential that we also support the crucial work Pineapple Support is doing to provide mental health resources for our community.”
Pineapple Support was founded by British performer Leya Tanit in 2018, after a string of losses in the adult industry from depression and other mental illnesses. The organization, which is a qualified 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization in the United States, has so far connected over 5,000 adult performers to mental health services, including free and low-cost, therapy, counseling and emotional support.
“The adult industry has suffered a number of tragic losses recently,” says Tanit. “Education and awareness are both vital tools in helping us to protect performers, while we equip ourselves with strategies that can help to prevent future losses in our industry. Sarah is is a licensed social worker, passionate about topics focused on destigmatizing sexuality, sexual and erotic labor. With experience working with clients with a history of trauma, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, PTSD, and substance use, I can say with confidence that our participants will find this webinar incredibly useful."
The “Suicide Prevention: Awareness, Education, and Strategies to Reduce Risk” webinar will take place via Zoom on Friday September 10th, at 3 p.m. EST. It is scheduled to last one hour but may extend. Please note that this webinar discusses themes that some listeners may find upsetting. Please visit pineapplesupport.org/
