Shaina Strong denounces bullying

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/09/2022 (1256 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Combatting bullying after losing her daughter to suicide will never end for Donna Hayden, and she’s gained many allies in her quest to reach out to the victims and bullies themselves.

Hayden’s Shaina Strong campaign, named after her daughter, received a boost of support from locals Saturday evening with the Shaina Strong, Take 2! awareness and fundraising event.

The evening at the Keystone Centre featured traditional dancers, auctions, dinner and a keynote address from NHL veteran and Stanley Cup winner Theo Fleury, who was there to speak about his own experiences with bullying, harassment, abuse and mental health struggles.

But all that fanfare was for one thing: awareness of the damage bullying can do to everyone involved.

“This is about mental health all the way: bullying, harassment and the big one, suicide,” Hayden, a Brandon-area resident, said. “We are trying to help the full circle, the bulliers and the ones that are bullied and harassed to show people they need to pull themselves out of their dark spots.”

Although she can no longer help her daughter, she said, she is going to help as many others as she can, for as long as she can.

But she isn’t doing it alone. Hayden pointed out her “sidekicks” — Chelayne Hayden, 13; Jordyn Wiseman, 12; and Karsyn Willams, 8, who have been helping spread awareness, along with many others who have thrown their support into growing Shaina Strong and expanding it to reach across Western Canada.

In July 2018, Shaina died by suicide at the age of 26 after being viciously bullied online and through texts. In previous comments to the Sun, Shaina’s sister, Shanelle, said Shaina’s death shocked the family.

Donna Hayden started Shaina Strong shortly after her daughter’s death, which has been growing in support ever since.

“If you take a look around this room, everyone here is supporting us and understands how important this is,” she said.

Fleury knows all too well the pain and trauma of bullying. In 2009, he published his autobiography he co-authored with Kirstie McLellan Day, “Playing With Fire,” detailing his own struggles with drug and alcohol addiction, as well as contemplating suicide brought on by abuse and trauma.

His keynote address on Saturday focused on his own journey through abuse and mental health and where it led him.

The root of the problem, he said, is the attitudes surrounding mental health that are now undeniable.

“Everyone’s been talking about the COVID pandemic, but the real pandemic for years has been mental health, and it’s now coming to the forefront and it’s reached a crisis point that can’t be ignored,” he said. “I’m talking about the full gamut of trauma and mental health in my presentation. I’ve worked in that for 18 years with my [Fleury Enterprises] foundation. As a society, we have done a really poor job of creating safe spaces and safe environments for trauma.”

He came from the era of “suck it up,” he explained. Whenever something bad happened to someone, like being bullied, molested or harassed, they were told to toughen up and get on with their lives.

More people are talking about mental health, he said, helping to normalize it, but real improvement won’t come until there are systemic changes, such as improving supports in health care.

» kmckinley@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @karenleighmcki1