A Suicide Alertness Training Event - safeTALK and Skate

08.12.2020 - 1 min read
Documentary

Last year at the Good Push event that followed Pushing Boarders in Malmö, I met Joël Pippus, a canadian skateboarder working with Hull Services. He held a fascinating conference about approaching skateboarding through Dr. Perry's neurosequential model and its therapeutic benefits on children's mental health and their trauma recovery capacity.

In September 2020, Hull Services collaborated with the Center For Suicide Prevention and John Rattray's "Why So Sad?" Campaign to provide suicide alertness training to key members of the Calgary and area skate community. Their hope was to equip (even just a little bit) the people who have the largest reach and impact, and as an extension to save as many lives as possible. They also wanted to continue to push the conversation around positive mental health forward.

safeTALK and Skate

A Suicide Alertness Training Event

Other interesting must-watch & read on the subject:

• Push to Heal (Mental Health)
  
  Push To Heal is a short film made in association with Hull Services and the ChildTrauma Academy. It endeavors to verbally articulate and visually demonstrate the connections between skateboarding and neuroscience, and highlights skateboarding as an activity that can heal the human brain from past trauma. This film also provides a snapshot of how and why skateboarding should be viewed as a viable option as part of treatment for high needs children.
  
  

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• You can talk to me (Mental Health)
  
  John Rattray & Madeleine Uggla opening talk on Malmö Pushing Boarders where they share their personal experience going through depression and a loved one suicide.
  
  

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• Ben Reamers: some thoughts on depression and its worst case conclusion (Mental Health)
  
  (The predatory bird is John Rattray website about his mission to raise awareness on mental health issues through his Why So Sad and Good Egg campaign. )
  
  

• Why so sad? Video (Mental Health)
  
  Rattray is on a noble mission to land a proper sad plant while simultaneously organizing a campaign to reduce depression and suicide in skating and beyond.
  
  

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• Smile - Nick Jensen (Mental Health)
  
  Nick Jensen sits down with The Ben Raemers Foundation and speaks openly and honestly about his own experiences with mental health.
  
  

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• Smile - Aaron Herrington (Mental Health)
  
  Aaron Herrington interview with the Ben Raemers Foundation. Aaron opens up about his experiences with mental health and skateboarding.
  
  

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• Smile - Q&A (Mental Health)
  
  Following the premier of the SMiLe Interview films, The Ben Raemers Foundation held a panel discussion. An open and honest conversation focusing on mental health within the skateboarding world. The panel consists of Nick Jensen, Aaron Herrington, Vaughan Baker, Andy Elwood and Colsum Akanjee-Khan. The conversation has just begun.