Safety and Support
Your safety comes first. Here is how support works, and how to reach it.
This program was rebuilt around safety. Support runs through channels that are confidential and independent, so a concern never depends on one person to be heard, and reaching for help never runs through anyone's permission.
Independent, confidential channels
There are separate paths for different kinds of support. They are kept separate from each other and from program leadership.
- To report harm or a conduct concern: email the administrator at MentorProgram@sfldg.org, or reach the LDG Chairman at chairman@sfldg.org. Accepted participants have the full reporting policy and form in their handbook.
- For wellbeing or a hard stretch: the Mental Health and Wellness Team, reached through your mentor or program leadership.
- If your concern is about program leadership itself: it goes to the LDG Board, so no concern ever depends on the person it is about.
- If you are not sure which to use: contact program leadership and let them help you route it. Working out how serious something is should not be your job.
The Mental Health and Wellness Team
The team is made up of kink-aware clinicians and a kink coach. They support participants in two ways: helping a mentor think through how to support their mentee, and supporting a mentee directly through a hard time. Support and any investigation always stay separate.
You reach the team through your mentor or program leadership, and what you share is confidential. You never need anyone's permission to ask for support, and it operates independently of any D/s protocol, leather family, or community rank.
Boundaries that protect you
Mentor and mentee relationships have clear boundaries. No romantic or sexual involvement during the program, and no private play outside program-sanctioned events. As the more experienced person, a mentor carries primary responsibility for holding that line. Mentors, mentees, and the Operating Committee all complete a background check. The full statement lives in Our Values.
In a crisis
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 911. Otherwise, these lines can help right away:
- 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988, any time.
- The Trevor Project (LGBTQ, for youth): 1-866-488-7386.
- Trans Lifeline: 1-877-565-8860, a line that does not call police without your consent.
- SF General Hospital Psychiatric Emergency Services: 415-206-8125, 24 hours, at 1001 Potrero Avenue.
- Kink-aware providers: the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom keeps a Kink Aware Professionals directory.
The Mental Health and Wellness Team keeps a fuller, current list of crisis and kink-aware resources, shared with participants.
Related: Equity and Belonging · Background Checks · Our Values