It鈥檒l be a barn burner of a good time, but first let鈥檚 have a chat.
That鈥檚 what the District of North 麻豆传媒映画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.聽
But before the music starts playing, the firefighters鈥� 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鈥檒l feature some well-known Canadians and advocates, in the lead-up to Friday鈥檚 Barn Burner.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e just really going to talk about their own personal stories and how they got through it and where they鈥檙e coming from so that people can identify with them and will hopefully identify if they鈥檙e having issues and highlight how they can get through it,鈥� explains Aaron Hoverd, the charitable society鈥檚 president, about the TED talk-style event.
Hoverd adds that so far students, youth, families, firefighters, school counsellors, and more are among those who鈥檝e so far gotten tickets for Thursday鈥檚 talk.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really hitting everybody,鈥� 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鈥檚 BlueShore Financial Centre for the Performing Arts.
And while all speakers 鈥� the event will be MCed by radio host Tyler Middleton 鈥� will be sharing and discussing their own personal mental health journeys, one of the evening鈥檚 speaker鈥檚 stories is perhaps already well-known.
In 2011, former Barenaked Ladies rocker Steven Page guest hosted an edition of CBC鈥檚 The Current dedicated to mental health. The response to Page鈥檚 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.
鈥�(Steven) came back to us and said, 鈥業f I鈥檓 coming to do the concert, I鈥檓 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鈥檒l come and speak about mental health,鈥欌�� Hoverd explains.
鈥淲e were a little bit shocked because we鈥檙e firefighters who are able to put on a concert just, but putting on a speaking engagement we didn鈥檛 really know where to start. But it all came together.鈥�
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 鈥� a figure they鈥檇 love to beat this year 鈥� while Time to Talk is intended to address mental health directly with a candid conversation. 鈥淲e made the talk free,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e really wanted to make it free so students could come, anybody could come, and there wasn鈥檛 a cost point on it.鈥�
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.
鈥淚t鈥檚 also something that we come into contact with with our work all the time, dealing with the youth. It鈥檚 a big thing that we feel like we can impact on moving forward, especially in our communities,鈥� he says.
The District of North 麻豆传媒映画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.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 more about that we found that people didn鈥檛 necessarily know the problems they were having. They were tired, they were feeling upset, they were feeling depressed, and they couldn鈥檛 identify why that was,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey 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鈥檙e having.鈥�
Visit for more information or to grab tickets to either Time to Talk or Barn Burner events.
