Sport Calgary Hosting Mental Health Resilience Event
CALGARY, Alberta – Let’s talk about mental health! Sport Calgary is hosting a Mental Health Resilience panel on September 28, 2020 at 12:00 p.m.
This online event is an informative and practical conversation about improving mental well-being, and learning resilience strategies in the face of adversity.
Sport Calgary is proud to organize this event in partnership with headversity, a leading digital solution for training resilience in the brave new workplace.
“In this time of uncertainty, it is more important than ever to talk mental health and resilience,” said Catriona Le May Doan, President & CEO of Sport Calgary. “Sport Calgary has assembled a panel of athletes and experts who each have their own experiences with mental health. They will discuss how they strive forward and work every day to overcome stresses. And, each panel member will talk about strategies to help us in our everyday struggles.”
“I’m looking forward to moderating a lively discussion,” said Le May Doan.
Panel speakers include:
Sheldon Kennedy won a Memorial Cup, World Junior Gold Medal and skated for three teams in his eight-year NHL career. He is best known for his courageous decision to charge his Major Junior Hockey league coach with sexual assault for the abuse he suffered over a five-year period while a teenager under his care. Through this disclosure, and the important work that Sheldon continues to do, he has become an inspiration to abuse survivors worldwide.
Sheldon was Co-Founder of the Calgary & Area Child Advocacy Centre, the first-of-its-kind in Canada, offering full wrap-around services for victims of child abuse. He is also the Co-Founder of Respect Group, which provides empowering online abuse, bullying and harassment prevention education to sport organizations, schools and the workplace.
Ryan Straschnitzki started his life on skates at the age of four, with Learn to Skate, protesting all the way. Eventually, he grew a love for the ice. Ryan has inspired the nation following the 2018 Humboldt Broncos bus crash. Ryan has maintained his resilience and hard work to continue his progress both on and off the ice. While he is paralyzed from this tragic accident, he continues to amaze everyone with his progress and positive attitude. He is currently working hard on achieving his goal of becoming a Para ice hockey player.
Tyler Smith is a Mental Health Advocate and aspiring public speaker and has traveled extensively talking about this subject. Tyler is a Humboldt Broncos Alumni and was involved in the April 6, 2018 collision that killed 16 members of the junior hockey team. Tyler sustained many physical injuries, but as so many who experience trauma, the most severe injuries are not visible. Still, Tyler was able to return to the game of hockey, first coaching with a Midget team in Leduc before eventually returning to the Humboldt Broncos in November 2018. He played 10 games with the team before stepping away in order to prioritize his own healing. He is currently attending the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, where he is a student in the school’s radio and television program.
Dr. Ryan Todd is a psychiatrist at Foothills Hospital in Calgary, Alberta, where he has seen and treated thousands of individuals who have a mental illness as a result of trauma, medical or surgical illness. Dr. Todd believes mental wellness can be learned and practiced by everyone, and that technology is a vital resource in helping bridge the gap between demand and mental healthcare today. This belief fuelled his desire to start headversity, a mental wellness tech company where he acts as CEO. Through headversity, Dr. Todd envisions building a culture of mental wellness in the Canadian workforce through mobile, micro, and measurable training.
Further details and ticket information is available at sportcalgary.ca/resilience
---
About Sport Calgary
Sport Calgary is a volunteer non-profit society, representing over 300 sport organizations in Calgary as a Civic Partner. As an advocate of sport, we strive to assist, support and influence the growth of sport in Calgary by:
Playing a lead role in the implementation of the Calgary Sport for Life Policy, and ensuring it continues to create a vision for sport in Calgary from introductory to high performance levels.
Continually identifying and assessing the needs of the sport community and facility stakeholders.
Encouraging development and enhancement of appropriate facilities and the efficient utilization of current facilities.
Fostering collaboration within the sport community and coordination of resources among stakeholders to develop and enhance facilities.
Increasing the profile of sport in Calgary, and advocating the values and benefits of sport.
Facilitating education and training opportunities for athletes, coaches, officials, administrators, parents and volunteers.
Acting as a resource for sport organizations.
Encouraging the hosting of sport events and sport tourism in Calgary.