The Shroud of the Avatar community has a long history of “playing for a cause”. 

Following in the tradition of “The Aerie Fund” and “Make-A-Difference,” the “Reaching Out – Rising Up” campaign was launched on August 29th, 2019 by three avatars: Justyn, Samsara Invictus and Fionwyn Wyldemane. 

The goal of Reaching Out – Rising Up is to be a part of the solution to remove the stigma associated with mental illness by promoting a healthy a dialogue within the gaming community.

To kick off this campaign, a weekly depression support group was started as a way to give avatars a safe space to discuss the challenges they face dealing with depression and to support each other’s efforts to rise up from it. There is an optional, invite only, Discord channel available for access to resources, videos and inspirational sayings as well as text/voice chat.

While the founders are not mental health professionals and don’t have all the answers, they do have a desire to help people suffering from depression and the associated feelings of shame, pain, isolation, and worthlessness. The message is simple, “You are not alone!”

The support group takes place in-game every Saturday afternoon from 4PM CST – 5:30PM CST in the town of Serpent’s Watch and is run by either Justyn or Samsara.  All are invited. Come as you are, come if you can.