A Winnipeg radio host with roots in Kleefeld is selling sweatshirts with a positive message in order to fundraise for mental health awareness.
Energy 106 FM’s Jasmin Laine has produced a sweatshirt with “You Got This” printed on the back and “I Got This” printed on the front. The shirts hold a deeply personal meaning for Laine as they were sayings she and her ex-boyfriend would say to one another to lift each other’s spirits.
“’You Got This,’ just made the most sense because how wonderful is that to be able to give somebody an encouraging word who may be walking behind you…it’s a really powerful reminder to anybody who may see it. And, ‘I Got This,’ is just a reminder to yourself…it’s one of those quotes that stands out and puts things into perspective…you can keep on keeping on,” she said.
Energy 106 FM radio host Jasmin Laine has created a sweatshirt to raise awareness regarding mental health and to raise money for the Canadian Association of Suicide Prevention.
Laine’s ex-boyfriend was Marshall Brandt and in July of this year he died by suicide after suffering with a mental illness. Laine was with him for eight years having met him in high school and then later living with him in Winnipeg. But the Kleefeld native, who also suffers with depression, mutually stepped back from her relationship with Brandt in order to do some self-care. While she always cared for Brandt and was always there for him, it didn’t prevent him from taking his life in July.
“I don’t think anybody ever gets over news like that, especially when it was somebody you were so close with for so many years,” she said.
An average of 12 people die by suicide each day in Canada with about 4,500 deaths by suicide each year, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Laine believes that there isn’t enough being done to make mental health care accessible to people who need it as it’s cost prohibitive.
“He very much took the reins and did not want to feel the way he felt. He tried everything from different diets, to working out, to being in the sun more, to seeking medical attention, and ultimately a lot of that medical attention, one, is very underfunded and, two, it’s expensive because a lot of insurance companies don’t cover a lot of what is needed.”
The 27-year-old also thinks that there isn’t enough discussion surrounding men’s mental health. There is such a stigma around men having mental health problems because they are culturally required to be the bread winner, the protector, and that nothing can phase them, but in actuality there are men who struggle, according to Laine.
Laine’s perspective on mental health is unique as she can see both sides of the coin. She knows what it’s like to suffer from depression and she knows what it’s like to deal with the aftermath of someone’s death by suicide. Brandt’s death has changed her in that it has made her focus more on other people.
“I remember my therapist summed this up the best. I started seeing a grief therapist who has experience in suicide loss and she described (how) funny grief (is and) how it will completely change your perspective and there are things that mattered a lot don’t matter at all. And the biggest one for me was my pride and my ego – the sense of oneself. I’ve always been a fairly compassionate person, but this situation has really emphasized to me how much you don’t matter. You as an individual don’t matter. What matters most is what you can do for everybody around you to make sure that you’re lifting them up,” she said.
The simple message is one Laine hopes resonates with people.
For each death by suicide, the World Health Organization estimates 10 people are deeply affected. In Canada, 12 deaths by suicide will leave up to 120 people in a state of bereavement. Beyond these people, up to 120 additional people will also be affected by the death.
After Brandt’s death, Laine made a TikTok video wanting to bring awareness to mental health. The video has received thousands of likes and comments where people are supporting Laine and sharing their own stories of loss or experience with mental illness. Following the video, Laine met with her friend Amber Nemeth of HayMad&Co, which sells sweatshirts where some of the profits go to mental health organizations.
“(I said to her) I don’t really know what I want this to look like, but we need to do something here. There has to be something. I want something where people can see it. I want people to be around and see this message that means so much when you think about it,” she said.
The shirts retail for $50 with $10 going to the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention. The shirts go on sale on Nov. 25 and can be purchased online at www.haymadandco.com/mental-health-and-suicide-prevention-campaign or at the HayMad&Co store at Kildonan Place Mall.
“If there’s anything that I’ve learned is that depression as a whole is that it lies to you,” said Laine. “It makes you feel like people don’t care, that you’re not loved. It makes you feel like you’re all alone and it will isolate you to just completely be the only thing that controls you when in reality people around you do love you and they do care.”