This company provides “touch-deprived” people with hour-long cuddle sessions for $80 an hour

For many lonely souls out there, ours is a cold, clammy world bereft of snuggles; a barren landscape in which not a single cuddle session can be seen on the horizon. As parched for affection as these creatures are, there shall be no hugs for them. Nor a stiff, professorial pat on the back. A punch in the mouth, maybe? Sorry, no.

But there is something approaching hope for these people: a new company called Cuddlist, founded in 2016, provides affection-starved folks with hardcore snuggle sessions for $80 an hour. As Huffington Post reports, a handful of people like Christopher Ammon have become professional cuddlers; a job he calls “the best job in the world.”

“A year ago I both came out of the closet and left the Mormon Church while appearing on MTV’s ‘The Real World,” he tells HuffPo. “I lost my family, my community… everything. It was devastating.”

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A friend tipped him off to Cuddlist and kindly paid for his training, which involves both an in-person or online orientation and at least one “Cuddle Party” workshop. He says the new career has changed his life for the better.

“I now consider my clients to be some of my dearest friends,” he says. “Learning about their lives, their heartaches, their dreams… it helps me to better understand my own.”

In a press release, Cuddlist spells out its mission statement: to “address touch deprivation in a safe, professional environment” by using “touch and non-sexual intimacy.” Currently, the company employs 80 professional cuddlers in the United States, and they particularly want to expand their reach in the gay community.

No doubt to make sure these encounters don’t tip towards escorting, a set of Cuddlist guidelines have been put in place to ensure “the cuddle session remains comfortable for both people.”

Related: The Ultimate Collection Of Cuddling Bros Photos

Cuddlist co-founder/CEO Adam Lippin says two types of people are “starved for the type of touch received in a cuddling session.” One “acts out sexually in a way that does not serve them and in fact makes them feel worse” and the other “is starved for touch and connection.”

“Cuddlist has helped me to live a healthier life,” says Gerrard, one of Ammon’s clients.  “What I found in this cuddling session is I felt the energy with Chris that he’s very open and there are zero judgements.”

“I want to be a part of the fight against LGBTQIA suicide,” Ammon says. “What this does is that it actively fights against loneliness… Cuddlist is the most accessible, reliable, source of connection out there right now.”

Learn more about Cuddlist below: