An empathetic approach to mental health: Todd Coughlin
“I want to heal the scene because there are so many youth in underserved areas and at risk, and they are our future. Youth are the future of faith and hope in this world. HeartSupport is leading the charge in reaching these kids so that they will be here to make a brighter future.”
— Todd Coughlin, HeartSupport donor
A lot of people who become core supporters of and donors to HeartSupport do so when they’re part of the demographic primarily served by the organization: young people struggling with their own mental health. But Todd Coughlin’s story is different.
Todd is a husband and a father of four living in Brunswick, Ohio. He hasn’t had his own typical story with mental health struggles — but he loves people who have.
“My wife and I, we've been married for 26 years,” he begins. “Her mom struggled with mental health issues when she was young. Things like that can be hereditary. So there are traits and characteristics in my wife as well. And again, as it's hereditary, she's passed that down to some of the kids. Has it affected me myself? No, but I do see the effect it has in my family directly.”
This meant that his interest was piqued when he heart Jake Luhrs of August Burns Red sharing about a brand-new initiative he was working on in 2009.
Todd Coughlin listens to a wide range of music, expanding from coming of age during hair metal days to listening to just about every genre today. Metal music has been a constant, which brought him into August Burn Red’s fanbase. As HeartSupport developed an early presence on Vans Warped Tour, Todd was immediately on board to support them.
“One of the last fundraisers we did for getting heart support on Vans Warped Tour was called Tour Makers Till the End,” Todd recalls. “I pulled the laminate out and brought it to an ABR show to have the guys sign it. And Jake was like, ‘Wait, I didn't even know we made these!”
That firsthand seat to HeartSupport’s growth has provided Todd unique insight into the impact that the nonprofit continues to have in providing life-saving mental health resources.
He explains, “What made me very passionate about it is seeing a lot of the things that Jake and the team have done in the scene. There tends to be a lot of influences that are not necessarily healthy within the music scene. I really saw a need for something that was providing better, healthier outlets. HeartSupport functions within that framework, with a positive message and positive influences on mental health. The fact that they are supporting military and veterans is what's really kept me attracted to the organization for a very long time as well.”
Todd’s choice to actively participate in mental health goes against much of the prevailing cultural attitudes in his generation.
“We were raised in a different time where you don't talk about those things. You don't face those things. You know, we were the generation of ‘Don't cry, I'll give you something to cry about,’” Todd remembers.
Watching his family members’ mental health journeys began to shift his mindset. But ultimately, HeartSupport became vital in modeling for him what a healthier relationship to mental health topics could look like.
He says, “I just know that the way I was raised was not healthy. I will be very forthright and say that when I first started with the HeartSupport organization, I wasn't as empathetic toward or as understanding of mental health. And over the years, in learning and paying attention to what the organization has been doing, it's really shown me an avenue of being empathetic towards people who have a need for that support. As I've grown older — and a lot of younger people will see this as they go through their life — you go through different chapters where you become more empathetic toward mental health.”
Todd credits some of the work of Taylor Palmby for some of this shift in perspective. He’s not alone in that; Taylor’s content on YouTube has resonated with thousands.
“My mindset, especially growing up, was ‘Well, don't feel anxious,’” he admits. “But mental health is not like that. So it’s been learning through HeartSupport, learning through others and understanding. I now understand that they can't control that. You can't just say, ‘Don't have this mental health issue,’ whatever it is. It just doesn't work that way.”
Over the years, Todd has also been able to watch what that deeped understanding and solidarity can build: deep relational bonds.
“The other thing I like about HeartSupport that I was really attracted to is just the big sense of community, the sense of ‘you belong here.’ It is just a communal group of people who are a tribe. That has evolved my understanding of how we should be living our life. Everyone's got a seat here. Everyone belongs here,” he states earnestly.
That community-focused approach has impacted how Todd Coughlin fundraises as well. He’s tapped the people around him to maximize his impact wherever he can. As an employee at tech giant Lenovo, he is able to leverage his own income to give monthly to HeartSupport — and his employer matches every donation through their giving program.
In the 2000s, Todd hosted annual fall festivals. One year, he decided that it was the perfect opportunity to amplify HeartSupport.
“It was the year of Tour Makers, and we used our annual event as a time to raise funds for HeartSupport,” Todd says. “I don't know exactly how much we raised, but I just had one monster donation because everybody learned about HeartSupport at some point throughout the evening. That was the first year that we decided to do a fundraising campaign. Every year beyond that, I was hooked.”
The consistency of support has been important to Todd, which is why he impresses on others the value of signing up for monthly donations, at whatever level you can.
He breaks it down this way: “It’s the little things, right? It's the sacrifice and the service of, ‘OK, I can buy a $4 cheeseburger, or I can use this platform to donate that, really sacrifice that, and live that example.’ Separating yourself from the money, it's the sacrifice and the service to make the world a better place through mental health and healing the scene.”
Ultimately, Todd has found so much meaning and joy through being a vital participant in HeartSupport’s work.
“What I am most excited about is when I see the impact that HeartSupport is having within the scene. That's really where I find all the joy,” he says honestly. “I get the most joy out of seeing the people, knowing the impact that HeartSupport is going to have.”
And that impact is only going to continue to grow, thanks for committed donors like Todd. He continues to have vision and hope for how that will happen, knowing that it remains utterly vital that young people get the mental health help that they need.
“HeartSupport reaches the corners of the earth where kids are often not thought about. Heart Support is an organization that cares about everybody and is there to serve the underserved or the non-served,” he summarizes.
“The music scene is rife with evil. There are people that are trying to take advantage of everybody. There are very few, if any, healthy spaces within the music industry. An organization like HeartSupport that has a presence in that scene shows love for the world. I believe God and the whole sacrifice of His Son was made to show people that their life is worth something and that there are brighter days ahead.”
He wraps up his reflections by saying, “There are just too many people that are preying on kids that are susceptible. Whether it's judgment, opinions, whatever it may be, many times kids that are part of this scene are not looked on as favorable contributors to society. HeartSupport has a tremendous impact on reaching into the scene, reaching both kids and these adults, to show them that they are loved and that there's a brighter future. I'm 54 years old and it's having an impact on me. It doesn't have to be a 16 year old kid. It can be old people like me!”
If you want to be part of expanding that impact and creating a more empathetic world with Todd, make a tax-deductible donation today and help heal the scene.
