Why we started
David’s Den
It’s no secret that Nashville is an exceptionally creative city, especially when it comes to music. The city has the highest artists per capita on the music site ReverbNation and was named the nation’s third most creative city by Forbes magazine. Although there are no statistics that show suicide or depression rates among Nashville’s community of musicians, it’s almost certainly higher than the general population.
How we got started...
David’s Den draws its inspiration from Nuçi’s Space, a health and music resource center in Athens, Georgia, that strives to prevent suicide with obstacle-free help for musicians experiencing depression and related disorders, as well as assisting the emotional, physical and professional well-being of musicians.
Rather than being an exact replica of Nuçi’s Space, David’s Den customizes its offerings to Nashville. Like Nuçi’s Space, we champion a culture of kindness and support in our community and maintain at all times the highest standards of caring in all that we do through nurturing, understanding, compassion and insight.
David’s Den is first and foremost promoting and protecting the well-being of at-risk musicians, but we don’t claim to be mental health professionals.
We want to be known for creating a safe, healthy and supportive environment where you can come and just “be” in an easy-going place where you can hang out, talk things through, get important referrals or information, or just relax and play music among supportive friends.
Leadership
David’s Den is led by Alex Chont, a Nashville resident and businessman with a lifelong passion for music as well as a strong commitment to suicide awareness and prevention. Alex’s brother David committed suicide as a teenager, as did his cousin. Earlier in his life, Alex also struggled with addiction and suicidal impulses, but fortunately, he found his way to recovery and transformation.
Music has been a major factor in Alex’s journey to health. When he discovered Nuçi’s Space he felt an instant connection to the group’s mission as well as to their target population of musicians and creatives. He had always wanted to honor his brother, and he realized quickly that he wanted to something similar to Nuçi’s Space in Nashville. When Alex found Nuçi’s Space something inside of him fell into place, and he was filled with a determination to bring the concept and services of Nuçi’s Space to Nashville with his own unique twist. Alex will use his sales and management skills, as well as his music-industry connections, to build a network of support for David’s Den.
Alex sums up his passion for launching David’s Den:
“Music has always been there for me, and it ’s kept me from going down that dark path. When I heard about Nuci’s Space, I thought, “This is it; this is what I want to do.”