The Suicide Prevention Punchline

Mark Victor Hansen is an American inspirational and motivational speaker, trainer and author. He is best known as the founder and co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, please call the Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 OR text "'hello" to 741741. Or if you don't want to just give someone a number, here is a step-by-step guide on you can talk to someone who is suicidal: www.suicideispreventable.org Subscribe and share on social media. Website: www.thesuicidepreventionpunchline.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/suicidepreventionpunchline Instagram: @suicidepreventionpunchline Twitter: @SPPunchline

Ari Gunzburg is a motivational speaker. He learned about death early in life. He experienced a traumatic moment when only 10 years old, when his teacher passed away while on a hiking trip. This would affect his life deeply and change his perspective forever. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, please call the Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 OR text "'hello" to 741741. Or if you don't want to just give someone a number, here is a step-by-step guide on you can talk to someone who is suicidal: www.suicideispreventable.org Subscribe and share on social media. Website: www.thesuicidepreventionpunchline.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/suicidepreventionpunchline Instagram: @suicidepreventionpunchline Twitter: @SPPunchline

Alisa McLaughlin is not a comedian, but she's naturally witty. She lives with Autism and shares her perspective on mental health and suicide. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, please call the Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 OR text "'hello" to 741741. Or if you don't want to just give someone a number, here is a step-by-step guide on you can talk to someone who is suicidal: www.suicideispreventable.org Subscribe and share on social media. Website: www.thesuicidepreventionpunchline.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/suicidepreventionpunchline Instagram: @suicidepreventionpunchline Twitter: @SPPunchline

Saqib is a licensed clinical social worker who has worked with individuals of all backgrounds and has been sober for 11 years. He shares his experiences as a clinician working with people experiencing suicidal thoughts. Subscribe and share on social media. Website: www.thesuicidepreventionpunchline.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/suicidepreventionpunchline Instagram: @suicidepreventionpunchline Twitter: @SPPunchline

One comic in our community just took his life. Join us as Zara, Frank, and several comedians who knew him process this loss and discuss the topic of suicide among comedians (Andrew Mercado, James Hurlbut, and Sancho Sanchez). If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, please call the Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 OR text "'hello" to 741741. Subscribe and share on social media. Website: www.thesuicidepreventionpunchline.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/suicidepreventionpunchline Instagram: @suicidepreventionpunchline Twitter: @SPPunchline

Edy Nathan MA, LCSWR is an author, public speaker and licensed therapist. She is an AASECT certified sex therapist, hypnotherapist and certified EMDR practitioner with more than 20 years of experience. In her expertise as a grief therapist she interweaves her formal training as a psychotherapist with breathwork, guided imagery, ritual and storytelling. Subscribe and share on social media. Website: www.thesuicidepreventionpunchline.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/suicidepreventionpunchline Instagram: @suicidepreventionpunchline Twitter: @SPPunchline

Alison Pena aka Bad Widow is a consultant, speaker and author, living in NYC. She became a primary caregiver during her husband's 11-month battle with pancreatic cancer and a widow, when he died in her arms at home in 2016. Alison learned to live fearlessly in the face of death. Subscribe and share on social media. Website: www.thesuicidepreventionpunchline.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/suicidepreventionpunchline Instagram: @suicidepreventionpunchline Twitter: @SPPunchline

Lisa Curry is an internationally touring comedian and TV writer based in Los Angeles. She's performed in ten countries outside of the US and was the first American accepted into the prestigious Mach Comedy Festival in Machynlleth, Wales. Lisa was a regular guest on 'You Up?' with Nikki Glaser on Sirius XM and a writer for The Jim Jefferies Show on Comedy Central. Her comedy is smart, dark and deeply personal. Subscribe and share on social media. Website: www.thesuicidepreventionpunchline.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/suicidepreventionpunchline Instagram: @suicidepreventionpunchline Twitter: @SPPunchline

Amanda Webster is a Mind-Body Wellness Coach. In October of 2018, Amanda stood on the ledge of a Canadian hotel room, ready to end her life. She describes what made her change her mind and led her to become a strong suicide prevention advocate. Subscribe and share on social media. Website: www.thesuicidepreventionpunchline.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/suicidepreventionpunchline Instagram: @suicidepreventionpunchline Twitter: @SPPunchline

Sal Farooq is a clinical psychologist who has an extensive history working with individuals with depression and suicidality. Much of his work extends to underprivileged individuals from communities where mental health is extremely stigmatized and underutilized. He aims to reduce stigmatization, propagate the idea that people from his cultural background (re: Muslim, Pakistani, millennial) need not only become physicians and engineers, but can thrive in the mental health space too, as our voices are needed now more than ever.

Sarah was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, and always knew she wanted to pursue a career in entertainment. She moved out to LA at age 23 where she started standup comedy and pursued writing and producing for TV at Loyola Marymount University. Her perspective is unique in that she grew up in the whitest part of America but went to Iran every year. Subscribe and share on social media. Website: www.thesuicidepreventionpunchline.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/suicidepreventionpunchline Instagram: @suicidepreventionpunchline Twitter: @SPPunchline

Host of the Advancing Humanity podcast, Charle Peck, MSW, is a speaker and workshop facilitator who won the 40 Under 40 business award. She speaks on mental health, suicide, and domestic violence. Subscribe and share on social media. Website: www.thesuicidepreventionpunchline.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/suicidepreventionpunchline Instagram: @suicidepreventionpunchline Twitter: @SPPunchline

Host of The Funny Shrink podcast, Mike Cotayo is a comedian with Cerebral Palsy who uses his quick wit to help people forget their worries. He was part of the Short Bus Comedy Tour. Follow him here: @funnymanmikec Subscribe and share on social media. Website: www.thesuicidepreventionpunchline.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/suicidepreventionpunchline Instagram: @suicidepreventionpunchline Twitter: @SPPunchline

Laura Stack is better known by her professional moniker, The Productivity Pro®. She is a Hall-of-Fame Speaker and corporate spokesperson for many major brands. Laura is a bestselling author of eight books on productivity and performance topics with a large social media following, and she has given keynote speeches and training seminars to major corporate, association, and government audiences for nearly 30 years. Laura Stack suddenly acquired the undesired wisdom of knowing what it’s like to lose one’s child. Soon after Johnny died, Laura filed for and received 501c3 nonprofit status for Johnny’s Ambassadors, Inc., with a mission is to educate parents and teens about the dangers of today’s high-THC marijuana on the developing adolescent mind. She hopes to help other parents, grandparents, teachers (and frankly all adults with teens in their lives) by honestly and boldly sharing Johnny’s story of his high-potency marijuana use and subsequent marijuana-induced psychosis and schizophrenia. Subscribe and share on social media. Website: www.thesuicidepreventionpunchline.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/suicidepreventionpunchline Instagram: @suicidepreventionpunchline Twitter: @SPPunchline

Katherine Jansen-Byrkit, MPH, LPC received her Master’s in Public Health from University of Washington in 1992 and spent over a decade in Public Health managing violence prevention and teen health programs. But over time, she experienced an inner stirring. After a suicide attempt at 16, Katherine has dedicated her life to helping others do the same. In her book, River to Ocean, Katherine explores nine aspects of wakefulness, offering insights, practices, and her own and other's inspirational stories from the field. Subscribe and share on social media. Website: www.thesuicidepreventionpunchline.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/suicidepreventionpunchline Instagram: @suicidepreventionpunchline Twitter: @SPPunchline

Farah Merani is an actor, voiceover performer, filmmaker, and advocate currently based in LA. She holds a Masters degree from Central Saint Martin’s College and is a graduate of the Drama Centre London. She has performed in Canada and the US, throughout Europe and in Russia. Some of her credits include: Call of Duty, Shadowhunters, Nikita, Lost Girl, Covert Affairs, and the upcoming feature film, Eat Wheaties!, featuring Tony Hale and Sarah Goldberg. In addition to being an actor, she has produced dozens of films with her company, Lifeguard Productions, co-founded a non-profit called Women on Screen, and contributes regularly on a variety of professional panels and conferences, speaking specifically to diversity and gender issues in the film industry. Presently, she is developing two limited series, as well as writing a children’s book and soon to be animated television show. Subscribe and share on social media. Website: www.thesuicidepreventionpunchline.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/suicidepreventionpunchline Instagram: @suicidepreventionpunchline Twitter: @SPPunchline

Leo Flowers is a comedian, life coach, and host of the "Before You Kill Yourself" podcast. He has appeared on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen, was a runner-up in the San Francisco International Comedy Competition, and was a finalist in the 2011 Stand Up for Diversity competition. He has toured on the Shaved and Depraved Comedy Tour, and hosted both MTV’s “Sports Blender” and Starz “Staan’ ‘Dup," and was featured on "Last Call from Carson Daly," on NBC! He also shares his thoughts on mental health and Black Lives Matter. Subscribe and share on social media. Website: www.thesuicidepreventionpunchline.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/suicidepreventionpunchline Instagram: @suicidepreventionpunchline Twitter: @SPPunchline

Robert Doc Barham is a comedian and life coach. He was on Comedy Central’s Two Drink Minimum, Just For Laughs Festival Montreal, and HBO Comic Relief. He is a Reiki master and has training in hypnosis and neurolinguistic programming. Subscribe and share on social media. Website: www.thesuicidepreventionpunchline.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/suicidepreventionpunchline Instagram: @suicidepreventionpunchline Twitter: @SPPunchline

Andrea is a community mental health provider, artist, writer, and mental health advocate. She is also a Clinical Psychology graduate student working towards her doctorate in Clinical Psychology. Andrea uses her creativity to express her recovery journey and to advocate for individuals with mental health conditions. Instagram: lettherebepeaceandflowers Subscribe and share on social media. Website: www.thesuicidepreventionpunchline.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/suicidepreventionpunchline Instagram: @suicidepreventionpunchline Twitter: @SPPunchline

Alan is a practicing dentist, an ACE Certified Health Coach and Behavior Change Specialist, and the founder and operator of Better, Richer, Stronger, LLC. Subscribe and share on social media. Website: www.thesuicidepreventionpunchline.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/suicidepreventionpunchline Instagram: @suicidepreventionpunchline Twitter: @SPPunchline