The Kootenay Ice pulled out a 5-2 win against the Tri-City Americans two weeks ago in one of their most complete games of the season in front of team co-owner Greg Fettes, who made the trek from Winnipeg.
However, more important than the victory itself was the spotlight on the Canadian Mental Health Association and a $25,000 donation to the organization on behalf of the Kootenay Ice, which was made during a pre-game centre ice ceremony.
Fettes, who is the president and CEO of 24-7 Intouch, based out of Manitoba, spoke about how confronting and addressing mental health is important both in his personal life and in the sports community.
“Mental health, and in particular, kids’ mental health, is something that is a passion for me and my family over the last years,” said Fettes. “It’s something that’s impacted my children, so we’re fortunate enough that we can get to meet the right people to have the right tools, but not everybody has that, so organizations like the CMHA are super important and we wanted to bring that to Cranbrook and do anything we could to help out.”
In recent years, there has been an increasing profile of awareness on mental health, which has arisen, oftentimes, out of tragic circumstances in the context of what transpired with Wade Belak, Rick Rypien and Derek Boogaard.
That’s part of why players and the public at large have embraced the awareness and action campaigns such as #BellLetsTalk or Mindcheck or Project 11. Both Mindcheck and Project 11 were born after the passing of Rypien, a former NHLer with the Vancouver Canucks and the Winnipeg Jets who grew up in the Crowsnest Pass of Alberta.
But putting the spotlight on mental health isn’t just reserved for professional hockey.
The adverse effects of mental health has had tragic consequences for younger players in junior leagues and even minor hockey.
That’s part of why Fettes said it was important to make the donation and announcement on behalf of the franchise in a league where player ages range from 16 to 21 years old.
“These athletes, at this level even, are people in the community who can really make a difference and get out there and talk about it,” Fettes said. “Even bigger than that, mental health is tricky. It’s not a broken leg where you can see someone walking around on crutches. It’s a lot harder to diagnose. It’s more difficult to understand, especially if you’re not a physician or someone who deals with it every single day.”
“So it’s one thing where we’re getting rid of the stigma, but what I’m excited about, is things like what the Canadian Mental Health Association is doing, which is finding actual strategies for families to deal with these types of issues.”
But the conversation around mental health shouldn’t be limited to just a sports environment.
Ice defeneceman Loeden Schaufler isn’t one to stay silent about the subject.
Schaufler’s father passed away following struggles with mental health, and the Kootenay rearguard acknowledges the importance of speaking up and speaking out.
“I think people shouldn’t be afraid to talk about their issues, like mental health, there’s people there that want to talk, including me, and I think that’s important,” Schaufler said.
The CMHA has a number of programs and options both in immediate crisis situations and for ongoing support. For emergencies, call either 911 or 1-800-784-2433, which is a resource for an individual in crisis or for someone who is concerned a person may be in a crisis situation.
For someone to talk to, there is the Kids Help Phone for people 20 years of age and under at 1-800-668-6868. The Mental Heath Support Line is available as well at 310-6789 (do not add 604, 778 or 250 before the number), which will connect the caller to the local BC crisis line without a wait or busy signal 24 hours a day. The phone line is staffed with crisis workers who are trained to provide emotional support as well as mental health information and resources.
There is also more information available on the CMHA website here.
In Alberta the mental health number to call is 1-877-303-2642. For Saskatchewan residents you can call 211 and in Manitoba the number to get in touch with assistance is 1-888-322-3019
There are also services available for our american readers or players at Washington State Department of Social and Health Services
