TELL’s popular Band Night series raises awareness about issues such bullying, suicide, and women’s mental health, while also generating donor support for the Lifeline. On Saturday, May 7 there was a Mega-Band Night, held simultaneously at nine venues in four cities and involving 40 bands. Mega-Band Night raised hundreds of thousands of yen to support TELL, but equally important, helped extend awareness of our services to hundreds of music-lovers in Kansai and Kanto. Keep en eye on our website and Facebook page for news about future Band Night events!
On the same weekend, TELL participated in the Tokyo Rainbow Pride festival and marched in the Rainbow Pride parade, celebrating diversity, and fighting LGBTQ stigma and discrimination. Research suggests each episode of LGBT victimization, such as physical or verbal harassment or abuse, increases the likelihood of self-harming behavior by 2.5 times on average. In comparison to their straight peers, LGBTQ youth are four times more likely, and questioning youth are three times more likely, to attempt suicide.