An Owen Sound band Pick Up Game recently held a successful fundraiser in honour of one of their founding members.
In July, founding member Ryan Norris died by suicide at the age of 39, and the rest of the band decided to do something in his memory.
They held a benefit concert at Heartwood Hall and raised $10,000 to go toward ASIST, which stands for Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training.
Jay Hoffman, another founding member of the band says Pick Up Game wanted to honour the memory of their friend.
“It’s been a really challenging summer and fall for the band, so we really wanted to do something to honour him. We decided to put on a fundraiser to not only raise awareness, but for suicide and suicide prevention, but to also raise funds for ASIST training.”
ASIST is a two-day interactive workshop in what’s described as “suicide first aid”.
At a LivingWorks ASIST workshop, you can learn how to recognize the signs if someone is suicidal, how to provide a skilled intervention and develop a safety plan to keep someone alive.
Hoffman says that Norris was a great person, who had a personal struggle.
“He was a wonderful human. He was one of those individuals who would do anything for anyone at any time, no questions asked. He was big in the community, and he just had the biggest heart.”
According to the Centre for Suicide Prevention, over 4,000 people die by suicide in Canada each year.
In a media release, they also said that the idea is to break down the stigma of suicide, especially in men, adding “Ryan’s death showed us that too many men are dying from suicide and the frustrating part about this is that we know it’s preventable, we just need to get the word out and help men understand that it’s okay to share how they’re feeling and that it’s okay to ask for help. Being vulnerable isn’t a weakness…”
The band also wanted to thank local businesses and those who attended their benefit on November 12th and showed their support.
Hoffman also says that Pick Up Game will continue on in making music because he says that’s what Norris would have wanted.
The band has an upcoming gig at the Wiarton Arena on December 3rd.
