Mental health awareness is at the heart of the Tournament of Hope

Youth from across Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) communities will be in Fort William First Nation this spring for a community event unlike any other. 

The Tournament of Hope is April 12th to 16th and is being organized by Titus Semple, who says it's more than just a hockey tournament. 

Back for a second year, the hockey, broomball and volleyball tournament, will serve as a youth summit, with a strong focus on mental health awareness. 

Semple was approached two years ago by First Nation leaders in the area to see if there was anything he can do to help address the ongoing suicide and mental health crises for First Nations youth. 

"There was a spike in suicides happening within our communities up north and something needed to be done." Semple said.

"The number one thing that kept coming up was to provide the youth some hope." he said. " So why not host a youth hockey tournament with a focus on hope. I am from the North, I love my people, especially the youth."

"We are not afraid to have tough conversations," said Semple. "We want [the youth] to realize that it's OK to open up and talk about your emotions and the things that you're going through."

Semple wants the tournament to open up those conversations and use sport as a way to bring people together. One way of doing that, he said is to make free and non-competitive so everyone comes out just to have fun. 

Jon Mckay, from Semple Enterprises has worked on the project since the beginning and agrees that winning isn't the point. 

"You don't really know who won last year's tournament ... I think it's just they had so much fun that it wasn't there wasn't really an emphasis on winning the tournament," he said. 

Youth from several communities in the region are expected to arrive,