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Reflecting back on his younger brother’s death three years ago, Dakota Favel recalled a feeling of helplessness after learning the person responsible for the murder was a 13-year-old boy.
The award-winning Saskatchewan singer/songwriter was among the motivational speakers during the third annual Sturgeon Lake Central School Youth Wellness Conference.
“What gives me the right to blame a 13-year-old boy but I had a damn right to blame the system,” he told the crowd.
During his hour long speech, Favel talked candidly about child abuse, experimenting with cocaine and meth, and becoming a father at the age of 16. He told paNOW his honesty comes from his own recovery.
“I have to be honest about what I’ve gone through. You know I can’t hide behind walls or hide behind other people. I have to allow myself to present what has happened to me so I can connect because there’s a lot of kids in here and a lot of people… adults even, who have gone through the same thing, but have not spoken about it,” he explained.
“I had to find that courage and that love for myself to share, like yes, this is what happened to me, but this is what I’m doing now to help myself so I don’t go back down that same path of drugs and alcohol and addiction.”
Favel, who has been sober for four years, credits his wife for being the one who helped him set him on a good path. (paNOW)
Many of the youth in the crowd are the same age Favel was when he began to make bad decisions. Favel said the message he hopes they take home is to discover who you are, learn to love yourself and what you love doing.
“Don’t allow people to tell you what to do. Like if you want to be a cop, go be a cop, you want to be the next Chief, go be the next Chief.”
Favel has less than 6 months of experience as a motivational speaker, but his message appears to resonate with the crowd.
“People are going to go through their own experiences. All I can do as a motivational speaker is speak about what happened to me, and hopefully they can use whatever tools that I used, so whenever they come up to a situation where, like ‘oh drugs and alcohol are here, what’s the angel or the devil on my shoulder gonna say?”
Acknowledging the need to fit in is strong, Favel hopes his story will inspire youth to be able to say no and instead have the strength to go home and maybe play some video games or some other healthy activity.
Youth in attendance listened attentively to Favel’s story. (paNOW)
The two-day conference brought together youth from La Ronge, Stanley Mission, Ahtahkakoop, Shoal Lake and Sturgeon Lake. They heard from a number of different speakers, including entrepreneurs, former gang members, health care professionals and Canada’s Got Talent Winner Rebecca Strong.
The event was hosted by Sturgeon Lake School and teacher/academic advisor Stacy Bighead said the theme of the conference, titled “Igniting our Sacred Fire,” is empowering kids.
“Letting them know there is hope and there’s people to help them,” she said.
Grade nine teacher Fawn Chartier noted the important role of Elders and said sometimes the youth just need that little extra push of love and to be shown there is someone who believes in them.
“We’re all in the recovery together,” she said.
Director of Education Darren Solomon also noted there’s ample work being done to support the community’s youth, citing conferences like the one this week as well as school trips and other activities.
“The work that goes into something like this is phenomenal and it’s growing,” he said.
