The Robb Nash Project will not only bring some good, loud rock music to Hapnot Collegiate next week– organizers and the band hope to save lives.
The group, which combines a live concert with lessons on how to deal with internal pain, mental illness and psychological distress, will come to Flin Flon for two performances next week.
Nash founded the group in 2012, hoping to help at-risk youth and people who struggle with mental health issues. Nash was motivated to help others after facing struggles in his early life, including a car incident in his teens that almost killed him.
Abandoning a record deal that kept the group from reaching affected kids, the group now tours across Canada to promote mental health and positive choices as well as help at-risk youth.
“We’re not afraid to talk about our own struggles with mental health and how we’ve overcome those struggles. We tell stories of hope and stories of tragedy, making sure to balance the two,” reads a statement from the group.
The band also speaks with youth in the communities they perform in, discussing the issues they bring up in their show one-to-one. Over the past six years, Nash estimates that the band has received more than 600 suicide notes from survivors – each one a reminder of the lives saved and improved through the band’s work.
HOPE North, a project organized by the Northern Health Region (NHR) to promote wellbeing and suicide prevention, arranged the show to spread a message of awareness for local students.
“Our goal is to increase our communities’ knowledge regarding recovery and how to encourage positive life choices,” said Hope North board member Deanna Johnson.
The shows will take place on April 12, with an afternoon performance for students and a public evening show, both at Hapnot Collegiate.
High school students from Flin Flon, Creighton, Snow Lake and Cranberry Portage will attend the performances.
