This Canadian musician is inspiring kids to rip up suicide notes
'Suicide is not an escape from pain. And I can tell you that because I've died.'
For Robb Nash, performing is a matter of life and death. He and his band are on a mission to get Canadian youth talking about suicide.
"Our main goal is to make these kids feel like they're not alone," says Nash, who plays many of his shows for free.
In Canada, suicide accounts for one in four deaths among 15- to 24-year-olds. Through music, and by sharing his own story of struggling after a near-death experience at age 17, Nash hopes to save the lives of youth who might be feeling hopeless.
I'm a desperate man trying to get out a desperate message.- Robb Nash
"You go through a lot of emotions when you find out that you're living your second chance," says Nash of the accident in his youth that almost ended his life and led him to redefine his future.
He started touring high schools, talking about his experience when something extraordinary happened: kids started turning over their suicide notes to him. Over 600 notes already.
Nash is one of a new generation of passionate change-makers profiled in CBC's new series We Are Canada. Watch the series Sundays at 7 p.m. on CBC and online.