The North Stars wearing their Better Together Tuesday shirts in the locker room (Battlefords North Stars/Facebook).

By Austin Mattes

Better Together

“Connected communities are better communities”: North Stars at the forefront of mental health

Jan 31, 2025 | 12:34 PM

`Since the start of the 2022/23 season, the Battlefords North Stars have taken part in a local initiative known as ‘Better Together Tuesday,’ where every Tuesday the team wears shirts by Better Together SK Clothing in support of mental health with the goal of sharing one very important message… “Connected communities are better communities.”

Better Together started back in 2019 when Deb McNabb and Alyssa Woodrow crossed paths after a series of tragic events hit North Battleford just a year prior.

“In 2018, we had eight losses to suicide in seven weeks in our community. Five were under the age of 22 and three were over the age of 55, our community was grieving deeply and traumatized by the losses,” said McNabb.

One of the losses was Trevor Southgate, brother of Jake Southgate, who was the captain of the North Stars during the 2022/23 season.

How McNabb and Woodrow met, was during at funeral of one of these tragedies when McNabb, who was a pastor at the time, noticed Woodrow.

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“I did those services and I noticed in four of the five services, there’s a young lady that was there… We started talking about all that we’ve been through together with community and we’re chatting and got talking about what if we could catch those in the front curve of life and those on the back of life? Those still trying to figure out their dreams and their visions and those who have fulfilled some of their dreams and visions. What If we can connect them together?,” McNabb said.

From that point on, the Better Together T-shirt Project was created with the goal of bringing people together through awareness of mental health by simple yet meaningful graphics on a shirt that share a connection such as milk and cookies, bacon and eggs, or milk and cookies along with the slogan ‘Better Together.’

Some of the Better Together shirt designs (Better Together SK Clothing/Website).

It started off with only 300 shirts for seniors and students and now has reached over 90,000 shirts with people, businesses and organizations wearing them every Tuesday across Saskatchewan and Canada to show they are ‘Better Together’ in the fight against the mental health stigma.

Health Care workers supporting Better Together Tuesday (Submitted Photo/Deb McNabb).

The North Stars were the first Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) team to partner with the initiative, and with such a close connection to the cause, they played a big part in helping spread the message.

“Mental health and Better Together is so important to the North Stars and with how much the community has supported the team, we wouldn’t be here without them, which is why any chance we have, we do our best to give back,” said Office and Marketing Manager of the North Stars, Kennedy Schmidt.

Since the North Stars partnered with Better Together, many other teams have followed suit and also become a part of the cause, such as the Kindersley Klippers, Melfort Mustangs, Humboldt Broncos and many AAA and minor hockey teams. This year was also the first time a Western Hockey League team joined the initiative with the Regina Pats being apart of Better Together Tuesday as well.

The Regina Pats supporting Better Together Tuesday (Regina Pats/Facebook).

“The fact that the North Stars were the first SJHL team to partner with us, they’ve been an example and a witness to the others in the SJHL and how important it is that they model every day, they’re breaking the stigma, they’re changing history.” said McNabb.

“Communities are seeing the value of the initiative, the message that they’re wearing, ensuring that they’re investing not only in the sports, in our community,” she added.

Apart from just trying to support mental health, Better Together also uses most of the proceeds from the shirts to help the community, from donating to local sports teams and non-profits to supporting people through treatment and providing the help they need, because “Connected communities are better communities.”

Better Together shirts are $25 and can be purchased on the Better Together website. McNabb hopes that the message continues to spread across the province and the whole country.

“Communities are seeing the value of the initiative, the message that they’re wearing and the difference it’s making in the community,” she said.

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austin.mattes@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @AustinMattes