hello everybody – my name is HARVEY

My name is Harvey Powless and I’m Kanienkehaka (Mohawk) Bear Clan from Six Nations of the Grand River. I’ve recently found success in Podcasting with my friend and co-host, Jace Martin, on the Harv and Jace Show, and very excited to share that we’ve recently signed a 6-episode broadcasting deal with Bell Media.

I’m 42 years old and I’ve struggled with addiction for most of my adult life. It took a heavy toll on myself and my family. The hardest part was coming to the realization that I was an addict and that it was not just a once-in-a-while good times thing. Watching the pain in the eyes of my wife and children was more than I could bear, and I finally made the choice to clean myself up. I have too much to live for and so much love to give. My children need their father, my grandchildren need their role model, and my wife needs her husband. Between addiction and personal health issues, I knew it was time to get things back on track. I am proud to say that I am nine months clean, and I couldn’t be happier. What I want people to know is that they are not alone. There are times when you might feel isolated and by yourself. Times that you might struggle with your mental health. My advice is finding comfort and help in those that love you. It was my family that helped me get through my journey. Find compassion in the community finding meaning in your traditions, spend time on the land. You will struggle every day but stay the course and you’ll find yourself in a better place.

INTERVIEWS WITH HARVEY POWLESS

Personal one on one interviews

INTERVIEWS WITH HARVEY POWLESS

Interviews with Harvey Powless Lorem Ipsum gravida
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INTERVIEWS WITH HARVEY POWLESS

Interviews with Harvey Powless Lorem Ipsum gravida
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Spend some time with elders in any setting anywhere and you will quickly learn an important cultural norm: Kindness. This feeling of kindness comes from an important conscious action that simply evolves into something like an instinctive reflex. A way of being. We all have the ability to be kind toward one another, yet how often do we actually act in ways that are kind. We can get overwhelmed, or let our feelings of being hurt get in the way, which makes us respond to others in hurtful ways. Sometimes we have to let go, and most times we learn that letting go is best for everyone.

This doesn’t mean that you let others be unkind to you or allow yourself to experience harm from others. It means that you’re present in your mind and you’re aware of your feelings and also the feelings of others. The natural desire of the mind and heart is to move through life without harm, yet when things aren’t going well, it’s easy to get confused and become harmful to yourself and others. This is where kindness becomes a helpful guide, and learning to be kind to yourself becomes the reward.

When you begin the process of being kind to yourself suddenly being kind to others just becomes natural. What most people quickly learn is that kindness is highly relevant in addiction treatment, even more so when someone is the victim of an abusive person in their life. Both situations put an incredible strain on a person’s mental health and kindness is a key factor in addiction recovery mental wellbeing.

In the process of building the Soar Above Stigma Campaign, we went to real everyday people and asked what role kindness played in their lives. You can ask yourself the same question because what we feel in our hearts is that kindness is one of the most important values of Indigenous Culture and when kindness is shared with purpose our communities Soar Above Stigma.