It’ll be a barn burner of a good time, but first let’s have a chat.
That’s what the District of North Vancouver Firefighters Charitable Society is hoping to accomplish as it prepares to host two events aimed at supporting youth mental health initiatives on the North Shore.
On June 8 the charitable society is hosting its third annual Barn Burner fundraiser at the Imperial in Vancouver. The evening promises to be a rip-roaring night of music and dancing featuring musicians and bands such as Steven Page, Barney Bentall, Odds, Rich Hope and other special guests, with all proceeds benefiting Jack.org, an organization devoted to helping youth become leaders when it comes to starting mental health conversations and initiatives in their own backyards.
But before the music starts playing, the firefighters’ charitable society is trying something new this year.
On June 7 the society, in partnership with Jack.org, is putting on an event called Time to Talk at Capilano University, a free community conversation about mental health that’ll feature some well-known Canadians and advocates, in the lead-up to Friday’s Barn Burner.
“They’re just really going to talk about their own personal stories and how they got through it and where they’re coming from so that people can identify with them and will hopefully identify if they’re having issues and highlight how they can get through it,” explains Aaron Hoverd, the charitable society’s president, about the TED talk-style event.
Hoverd adds that so far students, youth, families, firefighters, school counsellors, and more are among those who’ve so far gotten tickets for Thursday’s talk.
“It’s really hitting everybody,” he says.
On deck for Time to Talk are several athletes, including youth hockey player Myles Mattila, former Canucks goalie Corey Hirsch, and former Team Canada goalie Kendra Fisher. Jack.org founder Eric Windeler will also be addressing the room at CapU’s BlueShore Financial Centre for the Performing Arts.
And while all speakers – the event will be MCed by radio host Tyler Middleton – will be sharing and discussing their own personal mental health journeys, one of the evening’s speaker’s stories is perhaps already well-known.
In 2011, former Barenaked Ladies rocker Steven Page guest hosted an edition of CBC’s The Current dedicated to mental health. The response to Page’s candid and honest reflections on his own struggles were well-received, and since then the now-solo artist has been an in-demand speaker when it comes to mental health.
“(Steven) came back to us and said, ‘If I’m coming to do the concert, I’m going to be there anyway, how about the day before or two days before you put on a speaking engagement and get some other speakers and I’ll come and speak about mental health,’” Hoverd explains.
“We were a little bit shocked because we’re firefighters who are able to put on a concert just, but putting on a speaking engagement we didn’t really know where to start. But it all came together.”
After Page expressed interest in doing a speaking engagement prior to the Barn Burner, Jack.org, which has extensive experience when it comes to throwing speaking gigs, stepped in to help the charitable society organize Time to Talk.
Hoverd adds that last year the charitable society raised approximately $60,000 during its Barn Burner event – a figure they’d love to beat this year – while Time to Talk is intended to address mental health directly with a candid conversation. “We made the talk free,” he says. “We really wanted to make it free so students could come, anybody could come, and there wasn’t a cost point on it.”
Asked why supporting mental health, and specifically youth mental health, is a priority for the charitable society, Hoverd says the membership felt it was the right way to support the community.
“It’s also something that we come into contact with with our work all the time, dealing with the youth. It’s a big thing that we feel like we can impact on moving forward, especially in our communities,” he says.
The District of North Vancouver Firefighters Charitable Society was founded in 1954 and is comprised of firefighters that volunteer their time to support different charities and causes.
In addition to youth mental health awareness, Hoverd adds that mental health is something that affects everyone, including people in potentially high-stress positions such as firefighters.
“I think it’s more about that we found that people didn’t necessarily know the problems they were having. They were tired, they were feeling upset, they were feeling depressed, and they couldn’t identify why that was,” he says. “They thought it was just them, whereas now with people coming forward and telling their stories like Steven and Tyler people can identify the symptoms that they’re having.”
Visit northvanfirefighterscharity.ca for more information or to grab tickets to either Time to Talk or Barn Burner events.
