By William McGinn/Intern
KAWARTHA LAKES-Maggie Jewell has lived every parents worst nightmare. She had to bury her child.
20 year old Nolan Jewell died by suicide in August 2012, leaving his family to wonder what went wrong.
To this day, Maggie says she does not know why her son killed himself. “Part of the stigma of mental illness and suicide is that people always presume the person showed symptoms, but a lot of the times people; kids, don’t show symptoms. They suffer in silence,” said Maggie. “He showed no signs of [symptoms], he was popular, he had all kinds of caring friends, he was academic, he loved sports, he was active, he kept up his appearance…we have no idea what happened to him.”
Friend Grant McLean says he was shocked when Nolan took his own life, saying it “came out of nowhere”.
“Nolan was a caring friend who just wanted to be a part of everything. He would be the guy bringing everyone together…we were together every weekend…Nolan hosted [lots of parties]. Awesome guy,” said McLean.
“And that’s what people don’t realize; you cannot pigeonhole these people,” Maggie went on. “This can happen to anybody. Nobody is safe from this. You can’t stereotype this.”
Nolan’s sudden and tragic death convinced Maggie to start up NJ5, an organization devoted to giving youth mental health support and raising awareness. It stands for Nolan Jewell’s name and the five is in reference to his jersey number for his hockey team, the Little Britain Merchants.
Maggie and NJ5 recently received a call from Carly Veitch, Youth Services Coordinator, Kawartha Lakes Boys and Girls Club, who was working on a special project.
Every year on Youth Week, the Boys and Girls Club puts on an event. Veitch wanted an event that would attract all age demographics this year so she came up with ball hockey. The committee contacted NJ5 to ask if Nolan could be the cause, the symbol, for what they were doing. As a result, the NJ5 Ball Hockey Tournament was born.
That’s when Ward’s Lawyers became involved. Ward’s is, according to Veitch, a big supporter of the Kawartha Boys & Girls Club and in past years, they hosted very successful ball hockey games. She called hoping for ideas and support, and Ward’s told her they were coincidentally doing ball hockey for Youth Week too. However, Ward’s is putting on a contest for kids aged 8-13 called The Kids’ Road Hockey Tourney and NJ5’s games are for youth from 14-17 years and adults. They decided to merge, keep their events separate but at the same time.
“We’re not doing the same tournament but we’re doing tournaments at the same time, at the same place, and we’re really supporting one another,” said Veitch.
Thousands are expected to attend the coinciding tournaments to help raise funds and awareness of mental health issues. “All funds raised with the adult tournament are going to support NJ5 which does go directly back into our local community to support youth mental health and suicide awareness,” said Carly.
Ward’s Legal will make a donation to the Mental Health First Aid Training Program for Youth. Fenelon Falls Secondary School was the first to implement the program locally in 2017. “There was a lot of positive response, so [the course] is being presented to LCVI and Weldon as well,” said Veitch.
Maggie is going to be a guest speaker at the ball hockey event and Grant McLean will be on one of the hockey teams.
“[Grant and I are] overjoyed to see the activities that are here, what’s offered for the kids, what they’re doing in the school; nothing was here for my kids as they were growing up,” said Maggie. “It’s just wonderful to see what they’re offering how open they are and I think NJ5 is more humbled to be involved in them. We’re just blown away by their hearts and their participation and their devotion to youth in the community.”
Kent Street will be closed from the Academy Theatre to RBC for the event on Sunday, May 27th.
Hockey teams are currently being assembled for all available age groups. If you would like to register for a team, contact Kyley Stevenson at [email protected]. The deadline to apply is April 27 and the selected teams for the adult tournament are first-come first-serve. For further updates, you can visit the “NJ5 Ball Hockey Tournament” Facebook page or http://www.kidsroadhockey.ca.
