Robb Nash Opens Conversation about Mental Health

Wanting to put an end to the stigma attached to mental health issues and suicide, Lakeland Friends invited The Robb Nash Project to Bonnyville for an afternoon performance geared towards engaging youth and teens to open up and discuss these hard topics. After an insightful and interactive presentation for youths from Lakeland area schools, The Robb Nash Project spent Friday evening opening up the conversation about mental health issues and suicide with adults in Glendon for the Healing Hearts & Minds Gala. Both events, organizer Jeannine Nagy says were very well received and had a huge impact on the audiences.

The Robb Nash Project spent Friday afternoon engaging teens in the Lakeland, at the Centennial Centre, in Bonnyville, with an interactive presentation. The show infused the power of music with the importance of talking about mental health issues and suicide. “I’ve had a few of the parents message me and thank us for bringing Robb Nash to Bonnyville for the kids to see,” Jeannine reports that parents were already sending positive feedback to Lakeland Friends. “The kids were going home and talking about the event. As far as I know, the kids really enjoyed the show and it gave them an opportunity to talk to their parents; the parents were really ecstatic.”

The performer/motivational speaker stayed for several hours after the presentation to ensure he was available for any youths who wanted to talk more or had questions. “He spent time talking with kids one-on-one and he made sure the kids knew how to stay connected and continue to be a part of The Robb Nash Project; through Twitter, Instagram, Facebook.”

“The gala was incredible,” that evening The Robb Nash Project performed in front of a sold out crowd at the RCMP Hall in Glendon, says Jeannine. “Our goal was to get people talking, and the gala certainly did that. The conversations that we shared throughout the evening were inspiring. People felt they were able to start talking about things that were difficult and they couldn’t talk about before.”

Lakeland Friends, along with Robb Nash, made it possible for people at both performances to feel comfortable talking about mental health issues and suicide. “Robb [Nash] made himself available for a couple of hours after the show to answer questions, talk with the people there, and get feedback.” Alberta Health Services (AHS) provided the event with handouts and pamphlets, which were all readily accessible for the people, on their tables, so there was no need to search the information out. “Nobody ever had to feel awkward about going to a booth or anywhere where everyone would see them,” by making the information available, Jeannine noticed a lot of the handouts and pamphlets were taken home with guests.

The idea behind hosting an evening performance for the adults was to raise money to host The Robb Nash Project in the Lakeland for a week in 2017. Jeannine is pleased to report Lakeland Friends raised $30,000 at the Healing Hearts & Minds Gala. “The community support and the generosity was beyond anything I ever expected. People have really embraced the thought behind the event and the purpose.”

*Photo credit: Robb Nash on Facebook – like him at facebook.com/robbnashofficial