TRUE NORTH YOUTH FOUNDATION HOSTS
INAUGURAL P11 SUMMIT FOR MENTAL WELLNESS
Written by:
KRISTA SINAISKY AND JASON FRIESEN
In recent years there has been a crescendo
in the conversation about mental wellness.
On January 31 more than 3,000 students
were actively engaged in that important
conversation as they gathered at the
Burton Cummings Theatre to join the True
North Youth Foundation’s Project 11 in a
celebration of youth empowerment and
wellbeing at the inaugural P11 Summit.
Project 11 was introduced in 2015
in memory of Manitoba Moose and
Winnipeg Jets player Rick Rypien, and is
a preventative cross-curricular program
centred on giving students positive mental
health coping skills to deal with life’s
daily stressors. The project also aims to
remove negative stigma and the fear of
judgement that can accompany mental
wellness issues, all the while enhancing
students’ academic performance.
The P11 Summit celebrated the successes
of the program and created a forum for
wider exposure to some of Project 11’s
speakers, role models, and messages.
“The P11 Summit is an extension of
Project 11’s classroom curriculum,” said
Suzi Friesen, Director of Educational
Programming with TNYF. “It’s an
opportunity to bring the conversation
about mental wellness outside of the
classroom, discuss it together as a
community, share coping strategies,
positivity, and empathy, and celebrate how
students have grown to better understand
and manage their emotions and stresses
through Project 11’s lesson plans.”
“IT’S AN OPPORTUNITY TO
BRING THE CONVERSATION
ABOUT MENTAL WELLNESS
OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM”
Craig Heisinger, Senior Vice President
& Director of Hockey Operations/
Jets Assistant Manager is known for
his involvement in Project 11 and
his relationship with Rypien. He
spoke emotionally about Rypien’s
story and their relationship, while
stressing the importance of finding
the courage to ask for help, and to
listen to those who need help.
The day was filled with many more
speakers, including Jets forwards Nikolaj
Ehlers and Bryan Little, as well as
Moose goalie Eric Comrie, who fielded
students’ questions on mental wellness
in a discussion facilitated by TSN’s Sara
Orlesky. Professional sports entertainer
and public speaker Cameron Hughes,
Olympic Bronze medalist and female
role model Desiree Scott, and former CFL
player Shea Emry, also relayed messages
of encouragement to the students.
Musicians Garrett Neiles and Robb
Nash, known for addressing mental
illness through their music, spoke to the
issue of mental health through song.
The Summit was a part of Hockey Talks,
a larger campaign by all Canadian NHL
teams to reduce the misconceptions and
stigma around mental illness. The annual
project sees each team raise awareness
through in-arena messaging at a home
game, along with other initiatives seeks
to inform fans about mental health
issues and other associated challenges.
The Jets ran their sixth annual Hockey
Talks day on January 30 against the
Tampa Bay Lighting. During the game,
fans were able to express support by
posting pictures on social media with the
#HockeyTalks hashtag, while Jets players
donned #HockeyTalks logos on their
helmets. Additionally, the Jets will host a
variety of mental health organizations on
the concourses at home games in February.