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Milja G did a great job with introducing our speakers today from #Hope Founder - Nick Pegg CEO - Mark Stromenburg - Hashtag Hope began as an internet outreach project on Twitter back in 2012 - The heart was to reach out, in real time, to those who were thinking about suicide via Twitter - Since then, Hashtag Hope has grown into a hope awareness brand and outreach project.
- In 2016, founder of Hashtag Hope, Nick Pegg, left his job working in a kitchen and set out on the road in pursuit of those who wish to die. He set out with very little money and a lot of heart to share the hope he had found through perseverance and faith. Coast to coast, with hundreds of events in the name of suicide prevention and hope.
- In 2019, Mark Stromenberg, a local youth worker, speaker, and suicide intervention instructor, joined the team. Later that year, Hashtag Hope incorporated as a grassroots, not-for-profit organization, and received its registration as a Canadian charity on January 23, 2020. Their offices and home base are here in Cambridge
- While suicide prevention is important for all ages, we have had the most impact with young people, aged 13-30. - sobering stats - 1 in 20 Canadians are at risk of death by suicide, 1 in 6 youth are at risk, with risk among the LGBTQ community nearly double that during covid - They came up with BrainBox - it's not a replacement for therapy, but a tool to help youth endure the wait for professional support. They've packed BrainBox with simple tools and encouraging words to let young people know their tomorrows are worth waiting for! - It includes fun and useful mental health tools, lists of local resources and supports, unique stickers, pins, and buttons, and cards with honest and encouraging words about pain. One of their cards reads: Thank you for staying For the one who wish to die. Thank you for existing, still. Thank you for fighting and enduing the darkness. Thank you for the hours of agony you have dealt with so that we may still see your face everyday. So that we may still experience your smile everyday. So that we may still embrace you and keep our heads up together. Thank you for still being here and for showing others they can do the same. Thank you for staying. The meeting was then wrapped up - Todd L attempted a one liner... Heidi P beat him to the punch line......... crushed it... |
