Campaign Against Living Miserably, or CALM, is a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...

based in England. CALM run a free, confidential and anonymous helpline as well as a webchat service, offering help, advice and information to anyone who is struggling or in crisis.

History

Pilot and relaunch

CALM was initially a Department of Health pilot project launched late in 1997 in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

with the help of

Tony Wilson Anthony Howard Wilson (20 February 1950 – 10 August 2007) was a British record label owner, radio and television presenter, nightclub manager, impresario and a journalist for Granada Television, the BBC and Channel 4. As a co-founder o ...

, and then rolled out to

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

in 2000. It was a helpline targeted specifically at young men who were unlikely to contact mainstream services and who were at greater risk of suicide. Jane Powell was commissioned to launch the project and ran it until 2000. When funding for the pilot project ceased in 2004/5, Powell relaunched the pilot as a registered charity in 2006 working with some of the pilot's original commissioners and with Tony Wilson as a founding Trustee. In 2015 rapper and singer-songwriter

Professor Green Stephen Paul Manderson (born 27 November 1983), better known by his stage name Professor Green or simply Pro Green, is an English rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, television personality and mental health activist from London. Growing up on ...

was named as CALM's patron, and the campaign's Trustees Board includes health professionals and leading figures from the worlds of music, advertising, and management, as well as relatives of men who have taken their own lives.

Robin Millar Robin John Christian Millar, CBE (born 18 December 1951) is an English record producer, musician and businessman, known variously as 'The Original Smooth Operator', 'The man behind Sade', and 'Golden Ears' Boy George. He was born in London to ...

and

David Baddiel David Lionel Baddiel (; born 28 May 1964) is an English comedian, presenter, screenwriter, and author. He is known for his work alongside Rob Newman in ''The Mary Whitehouse Experience'' and his comedy partnership with Frank Skinner. He has al ...

are former patrons. The campaign has brought in significant pro bono advertising support from agencies such as Ogilvy Advertising, Tullo Marshall Warren,

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, and

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

, and most recently

Topman Topman is a UK-based multinational men's fashion retail brand founded by Burton Group (later renamed Arcadia Group) in 1978. Along with its women's clothing counterpart Topshop and the rest of Arcadia Group, Topman went into administration i ...

and BMB. This has brought CALM a significant amount of advertisements on billboards, on TV, in the

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground (S ...

and on radio. In November 2018, CALM partnered with

UKTV UKTV Media Limited, simply known as UKTV, is a British multi-channel broadcaster, which, since 2019, has been wholly owned by BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide), a commercial subsidiary of the BBC. It was formed on 1 November 1992 through ...

channel

Dave Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

to create a campaign called "Be The Mate You'd Want". This started with a 3-minute ad break, voiced by comedian

James Acaster James William Acaster (; born 9 January 1985) is an English comedian, writer, presenter and musician. As well as appearances on panel shows, he is known for the stand-up specials ''Repertoire'', co-hosting the food podcast '' Off Menu'' and co- ...

, encouraging the viewer to text, chat or tweet someone who needs support. It occurred again in July 2019, this time with a "comedy festival in an ad break" which featured comedians Ahir Shah,

Alex Horne Alexander James Jeffery Horne (born 10 September 1978) is a British comedian and musician. Horne is the creator of BAFTA award-winning TV series '' Taskmaster'', in which he also performs as the Taskmaster's assistant. He is the host and ban ...

Dane Baptiste Dane Baptiste (born 3 September 1984) is a British stand-up comedian, writer and presenter. He was the first Black British act to be nominated for the "Best Newcomer" award at 2014's Edinburgh Comedy Awards and his comedy series ''Sunny D'' premie ...

Darren Harriott Darren Harriott (born 1 September 1988) is a British stand-up comedian from Oldbury, West Midlands. He was nominated for the Best Newcomer Award and Best Show Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2017 and 2019 respectively. Early life Har ...

, David Mumeni,

Ed Gamble Edward Stephenson Jamison Gamble (born 11 March 1986) is an English comedian, known for co-presenting ''The Peacock and Gamble Podcast'' and his regular appearances on ''Mock the Week''. He studied at Durham University, where he began his come ...

Elf Lyons Emily-Anne "Elf" Lyons (born 10 June 1991) is a British stand-up comedian, writer and actress. Lyons is the daughter of economist Gerard Lyons. Early life Lyons is the daughter of economist Gerard Lyons. Her mother, Annette, is a painter and ...

Jamali Maddix Jamali Maddix (born 15 April 1991) is an English stand-up comedian. He appears as a regular panellist on the reboot of ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' and appeared on series 11 of '' Taskmaster''. Early life Maddix was born in Ilford, East London ...

, Jessie Cave, Lou Sanders,

Maisie Adam Maisie Adam (born 24 January 1994) is an English stand-up comedian, writer and actress. Early life Maisie Adam grew up in Pannal, North Yorkshire, with her parents Phillip and Jill Adam, and her younger brother Daniel. At 14, she was diagnosed ...

Natasia Demetriou Natasia Charlotte Demetriou is an English comedian, actress, and screenwriter. She is best known for her roles as Nadja in the FX horror comedy series ''What We Do in the Shadows'' (2019–present) and Sophie in the Channel 4 sitcom '' Stath Le ...

Phil Wang Philip Nathaniel Wang Sin Goi (born 22 January 1990) is a British-Malaysian stand-up comedian and comedy writer who is a member of the sketch comedy group Daphne, and co-creator of their BBC Radio 4 series, '' Daphne Sounds Expensive''. He cur ...

, Pierre Novelli,

Sindhu Vee Sindhu Venkatanarayanan (born 19 June 1969) is an Indian actress and stand-up comedian who lives and performs in the United Kingdom under the name of Sindhu Vee. She starred as Mrs Phelps in the 2022 Netflix adaptation of ''Matilda the Musical' ...

, Stevie Martin and

Zoe Lyons Zoe (also ZOE, Zoë, Zoé, etc.) can refer to: *ζωή (''zōḗ''), the Ancient Greek word for "life" People * Zoe (name), including list of persons and fictional characters with the name Film and television * ''Zoe'' (film) * ZOE Broadcast ...

, with

Jessica Knappett Jessica Amy Knappett (born 28 November 1984) is an English comedian, actress, and writer. She is best known as the creator, writer, executive producer, and star of the E4 sitcom '' Drifters'', as well as her role as Lisa in ''The Inbetweeners M ...

providing intro and outro voiceover.

Project84

In 2018, the charity commissioned the artists Mark Jenkins and Sandra Fernandez to create ''

Project84 Project84 was an art installation comprising life-size statues of 84 men on top of the ITV buildings at Southbank in London, England. It aimed to highlight the fact that, in the United Kingdom, an average 84 men die by suicide each week. Each o ...

'', an art installation in London, England. The work was sponsored by

Harry's Harry's is an American company that manufactures and sells shaving equipment and men's personal care products via online and retail channels. The company is known for their subscription service where customers receive new razor blades, shaving ...

and designed to raise awareness of adult male suicide.

Conversations Against Living Miserably

In May 2019 CALM announced a partnership with

for a podcast called Conversations Against Living Miserably hosted by Lauren Pattison and Aaron Gillies talking to comedians about their mental health.

After Life benches

In 2022, in collaboration with Netflix a mental health initiative of park benches were installed all about the UK, inspired by the iconic scenes from the TV series After Life, wherein Tony, played by

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office'' (2001–2003), '' Extras'' (2005–2007), and '' An Idiot Abroad' ...

, and Ann, played by

Penelope Wilton Dame Penelope Alice Wilton (born 3 June 1946), styled Penelope, Lady Holm between 1998 and 2001, is an English actress. She is known for starring opposite Richard Briers in the BBC sitcom ''Ever Decreasing Circles'' (1984–1989); playing Hom ...

held many conversations.

References