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A Movement on Suicide Prevention & Mental Wellness

Suicide is the second leading cause of death amongst young adults. Young adulthood is a critical time in a person’s life when they may experience great stress from multiple life changes like leaving high school, moving from home and beginning college. For the first time, suicide has surpassed car accidents as the No.1 cause of injury-related death in the United States. There has been a 30% increase in the number of suicides in the United States since 2001. (CDC, 2018)

As Deepak Chopra says: ‘’Suicide is the second most common cause of death, among those aged 10-34  (NCHS, Data Brief June 2018*). Suicide is the biggest taboo of America. This is the biggest tragedy of humankind, if we don’t address it , it is a testimony to our collective insanity, let’s change the world, let’s make it a more peaceful, just, sustainable, healthier and joyful world. We can do it!’’

The “Never Alone” movement aims to build communities to encourage and empower young adults to reach out to a friend who may be struggling with their mental health. The goal of the movement is to reduce the stigma and allowing people to know they are not alone, build communities of wellbeing where people can speak about it and enable them with the tools to work through it. The campaign aims to bring together a coalition of mental health charities and initiatives in order to provide support for people affected by mental illness, along with raising awareness and tackling stigma.

Deepak Chopra partners with social entrepreneur Poonacha Machaiah, actress and humanitarian, Gabriella Wright, and director Michel Pascal to raise awareness for suicide prevention and mental wellbeing through their global movement "NeverAlone" and the film "The Offering.''

Through their GoFundMe campaign, the team aims to raise funds for the ongoing support of the global campaign and provide content, platform and tools to champion activities on both online and real-time communities.

The campaign aims to foster ambassadors in communities who can champion grass root initiatives and be the voice for young adults, provide content/resources with information on warning signs, conversation starters, and tips on how to sustain a conversation around mental wellness. #NeverAlone

What could be a good way to prevent suicide?
Suicidal behavior is associated with a wide variety of personal and social factors. Some of them can be highly correlated with purposelessness, anxiety and  social isolation (isolation from peers or social relationships that are troubled).

The goal of the movement is to raise awareness with the film “The Offering” and provide tools for young adults to have conversation and dialogue within their communities. When our mind is calm, anxiety, depression doesn’t bloom. Our human nature is calm and kind.  When we are calm, we are naturally positive, we can work better, we can develop better connectedness with ourselves and the community at large.

The movement will also provide tools such as the ‘Mind Dive’ App (free), with curated content - ‘’Meditation for daily stress’’, Music, Talks, Yoga, Documentaries, featuring Deepak Chopra, psychiatrist Diane Hennacy Powell M.D, Michael Beckwith, Gabriella Wright, Michel Pascal, Temple Hayes, Verdine White among others. 

How can we promote this world movement for suicide prevention?
The global campaign will be jumpstarted with the emotional film “The Offering’’.  This film is an emotional trigger, very simple, humble, this film is not a teaching or a lesson, it strives to speak the universal language of love and foster connectedness.

The campaign will also aim  to bring together a coalition of mental health charities and initiatives in order to provide support for people affected by mental illness, along with raising awareness and tackling stigma.

To ensure it is a sustainable movement, the campaign will enable wellbeing ambassadors in the communities who will be the “catalysts” to foster and facilitate the ongoing dialogue.

Why is this film so important? 
Because we need an electro-shock, with an amazing emotion. This film is an emotional trigger,  very simple, humble, this film is not a teaching or a lesson, it strives to speak the universal language of our hearts. Far from the stereotypes of any films we could have seen before. The style of this filmmaking is very unique, it combines fiction (inspired by true stories ) but also raw documentary, storytelling. 

We need to raise money to produce this film,  to inspire millions of people to calm the mind.


The Offering: Film Synopsis
Gabriella, a Mother and meditation teacher for prisoners, comes back from work on a “normal day” and finds her 16 year old son hanging in his room.

Life changed in an instant. 

But why? How can we explain the suicide of a child without any apparent problems? He had no mental health issues. He had good social relations at school, good friends. But he longed for something he did not have- his inner peace.  Did he think he’d find eternity, freedom after life?

Gabriella wants to understand what was going on in her son’s mind. She meets Deepak Chopra and asks all the most difficult  questions. How to explain suicide, how to detect suicide? How can we keep living afterward, and is it possible to transform the pain? How? 

His answers are a fascinating bridge between ancient wisdom and the latest scientific discoveries. Deepak Chopra’s part in the film is not acting - he opens all his heart and shares his wisdom with a universal simplicity accessible to all audiences.

Our project’s needs:
While we need significantly more funding for the final and most impactful product, $200,000 will get us started and allow us to create a first version of the film. We’ll raise our goal as we meet milestones with your help.  Funds will be used for production and promotion of the film, including: 

• Material: Camera, lenses, computers, lights, mic,  
• Expenses: Ticket flights, accommodation, food, ground transportation, clothing  
• Salaries: Director, editing, music, script writers, camera, accounting, lawyer, proposal writer 
• Marketing: publicist, social media, festivals


Immediate Impact of “The Offering”
We know that The Offering will inspire change for everyone who sees it and that this can create a ripple effect. The film presents staggering  data and brings the realization that suicide can happen around us in the most unexpected ways. This perspective has the power to positively affect viewers, offering reminders to be attentive to family members, friends, co-workers, and strangers. When we develop more compassion, we are more present in life.  We realize how precious life is, we become more grateful. 

The film will open the door to our minds , but also our sense of responsibility , that everyone is connected , concerned and can contribute as a beacon of love for all.

Funds will be collected and administered by GoFundMe.org, a U.S. public charity, and all donations are subject to its variance power. See the applicable policies of GoFundMe.org here. U.S. donations are tax-deductible. 

Thank you for your donation and for sharing this GoFundMe with your network. Spreading the word is crucial, and we appreciate your being part of our team. We’ll update you here as this important project progresses.

Read the full press release here.

Donations 

  • Anonymous
    • $10 
    • 4 yrs
  • Anonymous Donor
    • $100,595 (Offline)
    • 4 yrs

Organizer and beneficiary

Deepak Chopra, Gabriella Wright, Michel Pascal & Poonacha Machaiah
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA
GoFundMe.org
Beneficiary

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