Misha Collins Talks Launching SPNFamily Crisis Support Network

Entertainment Weekly reports that Supernatural actors Misha Collins, Jensen Ackles, and Jared Padalecki are launching the SPNFamily Crisis Support Network, "a community support system to help fans cope with mental health issues such as depression, self-injury, and addiction." Collins is quoted as follows:

"We have this interesting exposure to our fandom in the form of conventions, where we go and we meet fans face-to-face pretty much every other weekend. And we have occasion to meet thousands and thousands of Supernatural fans and at every event, every one of us encounters as many as a dozen people who share really heart-rending stories about self-harm or addiction or depression or suicide attempts. We see a lot of people with tattoos of semicolons on themselves — the semicolon is where the author could’ve chosen to end a sentence but instead chose to carry it on so it’s a very potent symbol for somebody who’s struggled with near-death situations and forged on.

The nonprofit Random Acts is housing this network in partnership with two other nonprofits, IMAlive and To Write Love of Her Arms, which are helping us. They have experience in this realm so they’re helping us build it in a an efficacious way...For whatever reason, it seems to be something that is prevalent, or at least bubbles to the surface in our fandom. It’s just something that seems to be affecting a lot of people. I think one of the big problems that people face when they’re struggling with these things is not knowing where to turn. But if you are part of a community and you know that that community is offering help in a certain way and it’s something that you know is there, I think it might be really helpful. Anyway, that’s what me and Jared and Jensen thought.

We have psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists, and so far, about 1,500 people have volunteered to help man the hotlines. I’m really excited to actually see this thing hit the ground."