Entercom Stations To Air Mental Health Awareness Special

Entercom has announced  a two-hour live commercial-free broadcast special to raise awareness around mental health and suicide prevention as part of its multi-platform “I’m Listening” campaign.

The “I’m Listening” broadcast will air across all of the company’s stations nationwide on Sunday, September 9 at 7:00 a.m. in their respective time zone, and via their livestreams on Radio.com, to mark the start of National Suicide Prevention Week. The year-long campaign also includes suicide prevention PSAs, on-air promos and a dedicated website with information and resources to end the stigma around mental health discussions.

B-J Shea

The special will be led on-air by BJ Shea, on-air personality for KISW 99.9 FM in Seattle, and will highlight personal stories from artists and celebrities. Guests will include medical experts Dr. Chris Nowinski, co-founder and executive director of Concussion Legacy Foundation and Dr. Ursula Whiteside, clinical psychologist, CEO of NowMattersNow.org. Listeners will have the opportunity to participate via a live call-in option and interactive website.

Musicians and celebrities connected to the cause will also join the conversation about mental health. Guests scheduled to join the program include Mike McCready and Stone Gossard, Pearl Jam; Michael Phelps, Olympic swimmer and 23-time gold medal winner; Mike Shinoda, Linkin Park; Alessia Cara, Grammy Award-winning artist; Jared Leto, Academy Award-winning actor and lead singer of Thirty Seconds To Mars; Bebe Rexha; Charlie Puth; Stone Temple Pilots; Brantley Gilbert; Lzzy Hale, Halestorm; Stephan Jenkins, Third Eye Blind; and Conor Mason, Nothing But Thieves, among others.

“’I’m Listening’ is one of our signature productions meant to save lives, while simultaneously creating awareness for this truly lethal silent threat,” said Pat Paxton, President of Programming, Entercom. “The number of people impacted by mental health issues is staggering. The effect it has on their lives, and lives of their friends and families is devastating. If we help save just one life or help remove the stigma around mental illness, our time will have been well spent. We can’t solve this issue during one program, but we can be part of a vast network working every day to help and serve those affected.”

In addition to celebrity guests and medical expert interviews, the special will feature discussions around how to discuss mental health and suicide with family and friends, what all of us can do to prevent suicide, what to do if you or someone you know is struggling with depression, how to get involved in suicide prevention in your local community and where to go for help.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S. More than 50 percent of people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with a mental illness or disorder at some point in their life. Approximately one in five U.S. adults experience mental health issues in a given year, and one in five children have experienced or will experience mental illness in their life. Mental health affects everyone regardless of culture, race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation.

If someone you know is going through a crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741-741.