I tweeted about this the other day. Hockey superstars Henrik and Daniel Sedin advertised it last weekend at the NHL all-star game. The Vancouver Canucks sponsor it.

It’s a website that was re- launched to offer support and help educate youth about mental health.

If you watched the NHL all-star game last weekend, you may have noticed the Sedin twins wearing Ryp 37 t-shirts and supporting mindcheck.ca. The Ryp 37 patch was created in memorial of teammate, Rick Rypien, whose battle with depression eventually lead him to commit suicide last August.

According to a recent article in the Globe and Mail, Rypien had hoped that sharing his story with teammate, media and fans would help to remove some of the stigma associated with mental health. Unfortunately, not realizing how desperate his situation was, the team decided it was not a good time for Rypien to share his struggles.

The idea to re-launch mindcheck.ca came about as a way of sending Rypien’s message.

 The Vancouver Canucks donated $50,000 to help re-launch mindcheck.ca, a website that allows youth to collect information about mental health and helps them better understand what they’re going through. It gives teens and young adults a place where they can escape the stigma of mental health and get the support they need from professionals and peers.

The website offers information and support on topics ranging from anxiety to substance abuse to depression and even allows teens and young adults to submit videos of their own stories (something that I think is very valuable – as mentioned in last week’s blog). It also offers support and advice for teens and young adults who are worried about their friends or family members.

I think it’s so important for athletes, artists, musicians, politicians – people in the spotlight—to speak out about mental health. Giving youth a role model that they can not only idolize but learn from will help to remove the stigma associated with mental health. NHL players are some of the strongest people in the world of athletes.  For youth to know that some of these “heroes” struggle with their own mental health issues is a great way to help them know that they are not alone.  We are de-stigmatizing mental health by humanizing it.  And the more public conversations, the better.

Who are some of your role models? What do they stand up for?