Hope For The Day

Hope For The Day (HFTD) is a Chicago-based non-profit organization that focuses on suicide prevention by providing outreach and mental health education through the use of music and art.[1][2] The organization uses concerts, workshops, and events, and innovative partnerships to provide outreach and education.[1]

Hope For The Day
Formation2011 (2011)
TypeNon-profit
Legal status501(c)(3)
Region served
Cook County
CEO
Vacant
Main organ
Board of Directors
Websitewww.hftd.org

History

Hope For The Day was founded in 2011 by Jonny Boucher after losing sixteen people to suicide, including his boss and mentor, Mike Scanland, in 2010.[3][4] Boucher began working in the music industry at an early age as a concert promoter, and initially promoted HFTD by passing out fliers with information on mental health resources at music venues, churches, libraries, and schools.[5][3] The organization also uses speaking engagements at local Chicago venues to raise awareness.[5][6] HFTD has partnered with bands and organizations such as Beartooth, Neck Deep, and Havas.[7][8][9]

Hope for the Day's approach to suicide prevention is motivated by the fact that suicide prevention nationwide and across the world lack a unified framework for guiding action. This Action Plan for decreasing suicide rates has 3 complementary, interlocking components:[10]

1. Outreach: Starting the Conversation. Starting the Conversation through Outreach: Peervention starts with a conversation by meeting people where they’re at, not where we expect them to be, and raising the visibility of community mental health resources.

2. Education: Advancing the Conversation. This involves ensuring that individuals, institutions, and communities are educated on proper mental health care, and how to respond to mental health challenges.

3. Take Action: Empowering the Conversation. Empowers community members to be organizers who build opportunities and promote mental health in their own networks.

Sip of Hope

Hope For the Day established Sip of Hope, a coffee bar in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood in the winter of 2016. Boucher partnered with Jesse Diaz, founder of Dark Matter Coffee, a Chicago based coffee brewing company.[11][12] Sip of Hope opened on May 3, 2018. Senator Dick Durbin and others attended to give their support for Hope for the Day's mission.[13] The coffee shop donates all of their profits to suicide prevention projects, mental health education, and serve as outreach.[13][14][15] Sip of Hope staff are trained and certified in mental health first aid to assist customers who seek information about mental health challenges.[16][17] The staff provides aid through conversation and resources about mental wellness.[18][19]

Partnerships

Dark Matter Coffee

Hope for the Day has partnered with Chicago's Dark Matter Coffee for years, with this alliance crystallizing in 2017 when they decided to launch a social enterprise coffee shop together to be named Sip of Hope (SOH), which they opened in May 2018.[20]

Mastodon

In 2017, the friendship between Mastodon's Brann Dailor (drums/vocals) and Jonny Boucher resulted in the band performing at Chicago's The Metro in honor of Brann's sister, Skye, and in support of HFTD's suicide prevention programming. Mastodon played their highly acclaimed 2009 album, Crack the Skye, in its entirety. The album pays homage to Skye, who died by suicide at the age of 14.

Beartooth

On December 13, 2016, the American post-hardcore band Beartooth created a charity auction in support of HFTD.[7]

Neck Deep

Ben Barlow, lead vocalist of Welsh pop punk band Neck Deep, was interviewed by Boucher at Vans Warped Tour in 2017. He spoke about Neck Deep sharing similar goals with HFTD.[9]

Vans Warped Tour

Johnny Boucher toured with the Vans Warped Tour. The tour had a tent at each venue where they distributed resources and acted as a place for people to seek help. Boucher went on stage and let people know that it is "OK Not To Be OK".[21]

Chicago Digital

Chicago Digital, a digital marketing and web design company, worked with Hope for the Day to create a website that promotes the organization to a wider audience. The website was made to update news to HFTD staff and included a custom web app to help users find outreach programs near them.[22]

Havas Chicago

In September 2018, advertising company Havas Chicago created a public art display to support Hope for The Day. The art installation featured 121 mannequins dressed in shirts that read the slogan "It's OK Not To Be OK". The mannequins symbolized the average suicide deaths per day of 121 suicides. The display also acted as a fundraiser known as #121ToNone, where a mannequin would be removed for every $121 dollars donated or whenever 121,000 times the hashtag #121ToNone was shared on Instagram. The display was located at Havas Chicago's lobby at 36 E. Grand Ave in downtown Chicago.[23]

Nickel A Day Films

HFTD teamed up with AnnMarie Parker of Nickel A Day Films to direct and create a short film based in the Chicago suburb of Naperville. The film entitled I'm Fine is about a group of friends coping after a young teenage girl commits suicide. The film revolves around the pressures on being successful and meeting the expectations of families, schools, and friends in Naperville and DuPage County.[24]

Hope Foods

In May 2020, HFTD also "took over" the hummus and dip company Hope Foods as part of a fundraising campaign.[25]

Education

PEERvention Workshops

Starting in 2016, HFTD holds free monthly health seminars at the Logan Square Public Library to educate the public on mental health and suicide prevention. The workshop supplies tools to enable proactive mental health care to individuals and communities in Chicago.[26]

References
  1. Purdom, Gwendolyn. "Do good educating people about mental health and suicide prevention with Hope for the Day". RedEye Chicago. Archived from the original on 2018-03-15. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  2. "Hope For The Day: It's OK To Not Be OK". New Noise Magazine. 2017-07-21. Archived from the original on 2017-09-22. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  3. Alternative Press (2014-06-23), Hope For The Day founder Jonny Boucher interview (part 1), retrieved 2018-10-17
  4. Obama Foundation (2018-09-10), Active Community Leaders: Jonny Boucher, archived from the original on 2018-11-13, retrieved 2018-11-19
  5. "Carl Evans talks 'A Sip of Hope' and suicide/mental health awareness: "The biggest obstacle is a silence-based stigma"". WGN Radio - 720 AM. 2018-07-19. Archived from the original on 2018-07-20. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  6. "It's OK Not to Be OK: Talking Suicide Prevention with Hope For the Day Riot Fest". Riot Fest. 2018-05-07. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  7. "Beartooth supports Hope For The Day with charity auction of rare, exclusive item - Alternative Press". Alternative Press. 2016-12-13. Retrieved 2018-10-25.
  8. "121 Mannequins Visit Havas Chicago For Suicide Prevention". Archived from the original on 2018-09-21. Retrieved 2018-10-29.
  9. "Neck Deep's Ben Barlow urges bands with a platform to "do something positive with it"". Alternative Press. 2017-09-11. Retrieved 2018-12-12.
  10. "Hope for the Dady". Guidestar. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  11. "Coffee for a Cause: Dark Matter Coffee, Hope for the Day Raise Money for Suicide Prevention". Fourteen East. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
  12. "New Logan Square Coffeeshop Hopes To Remove Mental Health Stigmas". Eater Chicago. Archived from the original on 2018-07-05. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  13. Bomkamp, Samantha. "Logan Square coffee shop aims to start conversation about mental health, suicide prevention". chicagotribune.com. Archived from the original on 2018-08-15. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
  14. "Durbin cuts ribbon for coffee shop that donates proceeds to suicide prevention". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 2018-05-04. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
  15. "Welcome". Sip of Hope Coffee Bar. Archived from the original on 2018-08-18. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
  16. FOX. "'Sip of Hope' coffee shop offers help to customers with mental illness". WFLD. Archived from the original on 2018-07-26. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  17. "A Cup of Coffee with Room for Suicide Prevention". Mental Health First Aid. 2017-10-27. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
  18. Day, Hope for the. "Chicago Youth Nonprofit to Open Innovative Coffee Shop with Focus on Mental Health". www.prnewswire.com. Archived from the original on 2017-10-21. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
  19. Reporter, Kendrah Villiesse, Arts & Culture. "Café turns coffee into 'Sip of Hope'". Columbia Chronicle. Retrieved 2018-11-01.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. "How Sip of Hope coffee shop is supporting suicide prevention". www.today.com. The Today Show. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  21. "Hope For The Day". chicago.cbslocal.com. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  22. "Chicago Digital and Hope for the Day Team up for a Great Cause". Chicago Digital. Archived from the original on 2015-09-21. Retrieved 2018-10-25.
  23. "Havas and Hope for the Day creates powerful exhibit for suicide awareness". ABC7 Chicago. 2018-09-21. Archived from the original on 2018-09-22. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
  24. Wilson, Marie (2015-09-28). "Naperville film becomes 'starting point' for suicide prevention". Daily Herald. Archived from the original on 2017-11-26. Retrieved 2018-10-29.
  25. Blumberg, Perri O. (2020-05-20). "Eat Vegan Avocado Ranch Dip, Change the World⁠—Here's How". Clean Green Simple. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
  26. "HFTD's Proactive Prevention Workshop". Hope For The Day. Retrieved 2018-12-12.
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