The Gleaner

The Robb Nash Project performs for students at CVR

le lundi 05 novembre 2018
Modifié à 14 h 11 min le 05 novembre 2018
Par Mario Pitre

mpitre@gravitemedia.com

Students at Chateauguay Valley Regional High School were treated to the assembly of a lifetime on Thursday, October 25, as the latest school to benefit from a concert put on by The Robb Nash Project, which confronts difficult subjects such as suicide, depression, self harm and bullying head on through storytelling and music. Robb Nash left behind a successful career in music to take his incredible story on tour from coast-to-coast, playing to schools, detention centres, indigenous communities and other youth-oriented venues. Nash was involved in a serious automobile accident and was pronounced dead by first responders at the scene. Miraculously his pulse returned before he arrived at the hospital. Following a difficult recovery, he was left with a new outlook on life. One he wanted to share. He started a band with drummer Johnny Holliday and began using music as a platform to influence and motivate young people. He began playing his songs and sharing their meaning with audiences across Canada at no cost to the different venues. For CVR students, the concert was a “worthwhile and highly emotional presentation” said school Principal Brigitte Barrette. “It allowed for good post-show discussions among students and staff,” she noted, while describing the afternoon concert as an “event to break down isolation and help young people maintain mental health balance.” Not only were students taken in by his positive message, they were also touched by much of what he had to say with regard to hope and positive life choices. “I think his story and the advice he gives people touch them so much because some people just need to know that someone understands what they’re going through and can tell them they have the strength to go forward,” commented grade 10 student Julie Rogers. “we’ve never had anything quite like this at our school,” she added. The impact of The Robb Nash Project are as impressive as they are jarring. In the last nine years they have directly reached over 1450 schools, and have played to over one-million young people. The multi-award winning project has been lauded by several mental health organizations for their work in reaching an often challenging audience. Following performances, Nash reports having received over 800 suicide notes from students, hundreds of razor blades from those who self harm along with bottles of pills and other illicit drugs from youth who have taken his message to heart.