A former Mount Forest resident will be stickhandling across Canada to aid Canadians affected by addiction, mental illness, trauma and victimization.
Paulie O’Byrne is scheduled to leave on May 9 from Victoria, BC on the cross-Canada journey to St. John’s, Newfoundland, stickhandling a ball from coast to coast in an effort to smash the stigma around mental illness, sexual abuse and addiction, and to raise funds to better support those affected by them.
Funds raised from the journey will go to the not-for-profit organization 1in5. It is dedicated to the one in five Canadians affected by addiction, mental illness, trauma and victimization.
O’Bryne played competitive hockey for 14 years and attended Lambton College, for Sports and recreation administration. He became a Canadian certified hockey coach at the age of 20. His first coaching opportunity was in Delhi in September 2006, where his life would be forever changed by clinical depression, anxiety, and post traumatic stress disorder after years of drug abuse and multiple suicide attempts.
In 2012, he got back on the ice, coaching a Junior B team in Calgary to a city and league championship.
O’Bryne now speaks to groups and at conferences about his journey, the road to recover, and living with mental illness.
For more information or to donate go to http://www.im1in5.com.
