'Jane the Virgin' Actor Brought a Special Guest on His Instagram to Spread Suicide Prevention

In a video posted on Thursday to both Instagram and Facebook, “Jane the Virgin” actor Justin Baldoni shared a powerful message to anyone dealing with depression or suicidal thoughts featuring prominent suicide prevention activist, Kevin Hines.

Hines is known as one of the few people who attempted suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge and survived. He is now a speaker and suicide prevention advocate, and shared some words of encouragement to Baldoni’s social media followers.

In a content warning, the actor explained why he thought it was important to make a video with Hines. He wrote:

This topic is taboo and can feel uncomfortable or difficult to talk about. And yet, I am learning that often what is most difficult to talk about is what we most need to be talking about. There’s nearly 1,000,000 of you following me now- and what’s the point of having a platform if we don’t talk about things that matter. Depression. Mental Illness. Suicide. These actually affect more people than cancer. We all know someone who has been directly impacted by cancer, which can only mean that we also all know someone who is directly impacted by depression …whether we know it or not. Maybe that someone is your friend, your classmate, your neighbor, the employee at the grocery store, the new mom down the street, or the top male athlete at your school. Maybe that someone is you. And you know too well the darkness that takes hold of your thoughts. But it’s not your fault. You just need a hand.

In the video, Baldoni said he knows we usually use Instagram to post videos and photos about the good parts of our lives. But, he wanted to use his platform to send a message to his followers who might be dealing with depression or suicidal thoughts.

That’s when Hines jumped in. He said, “If you’re in that desperate pain right now, stop. Notice that you’re thoughts don’t have to become your actions… you can stay. You can be here tomorrow.”

Watch the full video below:

If you or someone you know needs help, visit our suicide prevention resources page.

If you need support right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “HOME” to 741-741. Head here for a list of crisis centers around the world

Lead image via Justin Baldoni’s Facebook page