Seeds of Support: Arts For Suicide Prevention
Donation protected
Branch Out Theatre needs your help to launch:
Seeds Of Support (S.O.S.):
A Youth Community Arts Initiative as a form of suicide prevention in Sandy Lake First Nation Reserve.
Your Support will help us:
-Create & Send Mental Health Arts Kits to 250 grade 7-10 Students in Sandy Lake First Nation Reserve and 150 grade 7-10 students in Bearskin Lake First Nation Reserve
-Generate the funding to pay Artists in Sandy Lake First Nation Reserve to lead Mental Health Arts Days for youth to support their mental health
-Generate the funding to pay Artists in Sandy Lake First Nation Reserve to lead weekly Arts Programs for youth to support their mental health
-Mentor Artists in Sandy Lake First Nation Reserve to build skills in embodied trauma informed care and suicide prevention approaches
Your Support Will Help Save Lives!
Community Arts Programming in Sandy Lake First Nation Reserve & Bearskin Lake First Nation Reserve Means
Providing Youth Opportunities for:
-Developing Ongoing Creative & Embodied Tools for Mental Wellness
-Providing an Outlet and Safe Space for Stress and Harm Reduction
-Sharing stories and experiences around mental health and addictions in a supportive environment
-Self-Expression
-Building Self Confidence
-Building Supportive Youth Networks
-Creativity
-Developing Young Artists
-Creating opportunities for community mentorship
-Youth Learning with Artist role-models from the community
-And More!
Branch Out Theatre's Artistic Director, Naomi Tessler was invited to be the Artist in Residence for National Addictions Awareness Week in Sandy Lake First Nation Reserve- a beautiful, remote, Fly-in, Indigenous Community in Northern Ontario, at the end of November.
Naomi worked with youth in grades 7-10 for four days, sharing skills in: theatre, movement, song, puppetry making and storytelling and co-creating plays with the youth and artists in the community addressing mental health, addictions and pathways to mental wellness. Naomi loved working with the incredibly talented, warm, brilliant and creative young folks in Sandy Lake and has remained connected with the artists to build a bridge of ongoing community arts partnership between Branch Out Theatre and Artists in Sandy Lake.
When working in the community, Naomi learned first-hand that a large percentage of youth struggle with mental health and have attempted suicide, engaged in self-harm or have someone in their life who has. Like many youth, they struggle to speak openly about their experiences due to the ongoing shame and stigma attached to mental illness.
Seeds of Support is an opportunity to expand the 4-day intensive community arts residency Naomi led in the community by generating the funding to support artists in Sandy Lake to lead ongoing community arts programming and mental health arts days, provide artists with training in trauma informed care and suicide prevention approaches to be able to provide a safe space to offer the care youth are seeking from artist-leaders in the community, and provide each youth in grades 7-10 with a Mental Health Arts Kit (prepared with love by Branch Out Theatre volunteers) that includes arts materials, a journal, a My Life Creative Affirmation card and an I NEED SUPPORT card with the number for the Hope for Wellness Help Line on the back. Seeds of Support will also send Mental Health Arts Kits to 150 youth in Bearskin Lake- a reserve where friends of Sandy Lake community members reside, that is deeply impacted by COVID-19.
The Seeds of Support you help us plant, will creatively inspire the youth of Sandy Lake and Bearskin Lake to Grow Their Roots of Self-Confidence so they can Shine Within & Share their Gifts with each other---to Turn a New Leaf.
Thank you for your Care!
Chi Miigwetch!
Questions: [email redacted]
Learn More about Branch Out Theatre here: www.branchouttheatre.com
Info about Sandy Lake First Nation Here: http://sandylake.firstnation.ca/
Info about Bearskin Lake First Nation Covid Crisis impact Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3_fUq2mZoc
Gratitude to:
Peter Meekis and the Choose Life Program in Sandy Lake First Nation Reserve
My Life Creative: https://www.mylifecreative.com/
Dollarama
Richard Shoichet
Laurie Goodman
Members of our WOW Seniors theatre Ensemble: Margaret & Ruby
Grade 2 Class at The Grove Community School
Sol Malakai Samuels, Saraya Raven Samuels & Rob Samuels
Stephen Douglas
Ricki Samuels
Amy Tessler
Bloorcourt Stationary & Post & the charismatic owners: Smita & Anil
Field Trip Cafe (@fieldtripcafe)
-Generate the funding to pay Artists in Sandy Lake First Nation Reserve to lead weekly Arts Programs for youth to support their mental health
-Mentor Artists in Sandy Lake First Nation Reserve to build skills in embodied trauma informed care and suicide prevention approaches
Your Support Will Help Save Lives!
Community Arts Programming in Sandy Lake First Nation Reserve & Bearskin Lake First Nation Reserve Means
Providing Youth Opportunities for:
-Developing Ongoing Creative & Embodied Tools for Mental Wellness
-Providing an Outlet and Safe Space for Stress and Harm Reduction
-Sharing stories and experiences around mental health and addictions in a supportive environment
-Self-Expression
-Building Self Confidence
-Building Supportive Youth Networks
-Creativity
-Developing Young Artists
-Creating opportunities for community mentorship
-Youth Learning with Artist role-models from the community
-And More!
Branch Out Theatre's Artistic Director, Naomi Tessler was invited to be the Artist in Residence for National Addictions Awareness Week in Sandy Lake First Nation Reserve- a beautiful, remote, Fly-in, Indigenous Community in Northern Ontario, at the end of November.
Naomi worked with youth in grades 7-10 for four days, sharing skills in: theatre, movement, song, puppetry making and storytelling and co-creating plays with the youth and artists in the community addressing mental health, addictions and pathways to mental wellness. Naomi loved working with the incredibly talented, warm, brilliant and creative young folks in Sandy Lake and has remained connected with the artists to build a bridge of ongoing community arts partnership between Branch Out Theatre and Artists in Sandy Lake.
When working in the community, Naomi learned first-hand that a large percentage of youth struggle with mental health and have attempted suicide, engaged in self-harm or have someone in their life who has. Like many youth, they struggle to speak openly about their experiences due to the ongoing shame and stigma attached to mental illness.
Seeds of Support is an opportunity to expand the 4-day intensive community arts residency Naomi led in the community by generating the funding to support artists in Sandy Lake to lead ongoing community arts programming and mental health arts days, provide artists with training in trauma informed care and suicide prevention approaches to be able to provide a safe space to offer the care youth are seeking from artist-leaders in the community, and provide each youth in grades 7-10 with a Mental Health Arts Kit (prepared with love by Branch Out Theatre volunteers) that includes arts materials, a journal, a My Life Creative Affirmation card and an I NEED SUPPORT card with the number for the Hope for Wellness Help Line on the back. Seeds of Support will also send Mental Health Arts Kits to 150 youth in Bearskin Lake- a reserve where friends of Sandy Lake community members reside, that is deeply impacted by COVID-19.
The Seeds of Support you help us plant, will creatively inspire the youth of Sandy Lake and Bearskin Lake to Grow Their Roots of Self-Confidence so they can Shine Within & Share their Gifts with each other---to Turn a New Leaf.
Thank you for your Care!
Chi Miigwetch!
Questions: [email redacted]
Learn More about Branch Out Theatre here: www.branchouttheatre.com
Info about Sandy Lake First Nation Here: http://sandylake.firstnation.ca/
Info about Bearskin Lake First Nation Covid Crisis impact Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3_fUq2mZoc
Gratitude to:
Peter Meekis and the Choose Life Program in Sandy Lake First Nation Reserve
My Life Creative: https://www.mylifecreative.com/
Dollarama
Richard Shoichet
Laurie Goodman
Members of our WOW Seniors theatre Ensemble: Margaret & Ruby
Grade 2 Class at The Grove Community School
Sol Malakai Samuels, Saraya Raven Samuels & Rob Samuels
Stephen Douglas
Ricki Samuels
Amy Tessler
Bloorcourt Stationary & Post & the charismatic owners: Smita & Anil
Field Trip Cafe (@fieldtripcafe)
Organizer
Branch Out Theatre
Organizer
Toronto, ON