{"id":61991,"date":"2026-01-30T20:02:54","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T00:02:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelaker.ca\/?p=61991"},"modified":"2026-01-30T20:02:54","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T00:02:54","slug":"community-health-board-volunteer-garners-human-rights-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/?p=61991","title":{"rendered":"Community health board volunteer garners human rights award"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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BEDFORD:<\/strong> At just 20, Evan Treffler has already become one of Nova Scotia\u2019s most visible young voices for mental health advocacy, inclusion and human rights. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Dalhousie University medical sciences student was recognized in December with a Nova Scotia Human Rights Award for his leadership in advancing mental health equity and youth empowerment across the province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bedford native says his passion for healthcare and advocacy is rooted in family values and a desire to give back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always had really great role models in my life,\u201d he points out. \u201cMy parents are generous and focused and that inspired me to contribute and do my part.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission presents its annual awards in conjunction with International Human Rights Day. This year, four people and one group were honoured at a ceremony in Halifax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Evan also volunteers with the Cobequid Community Health Board, where he helps shape local health priorities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI love meeting passionate people who contribute in unique ways to our community,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWorking together across community supports well\u2011being in everyday ways.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 2025-2029 community health plan<\/a>, mental health is identified as a provincial priority by community health boards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On campus, Evan serves as co\u2011president of Dalhousie\u2019s chapter of Jack.org<\/a>, a Canadian youth mental health charity. He describes it as a busy student group that reaches tens of thousands of students each month through social media campaigns and in-person programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe want every student to feel welcome and know that their voice matters,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMental health is tied to human dignity and real change begins with listening.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his public speaking engagements with students, Evan delivers peer\u2011led presentations encouraging students to ask for help, fight stigma and support one another. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The talk opens space for honest conversations about identity, resilience and community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLife and school can be hard enough and it\u2019s important to advocate for mental health awareness and make sure students know support is available.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Evan also serves as Dalhousie\u2019s wellness champion, which involves working with staff and student leaders to ensure supports meet student needs. He emphasizes prevention, early intervention and making help easy to access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has also represented Dalhousie as a social advocate for Health Canada\u2019s multi\u2011substance risk reduction campaign, engaging youth in conversations about harm reduction and mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He says the human rights award is meaningful because it highlights the importance of youth leadership and shared responsibility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m very grateful for the opportunity I\u2019ve had to meet so many people across our communities who are passionate about mental health and wellness,\u201d he explains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGetting to work alongside them and give back together is really something special.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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He says his career goal is to become a family physician in Nova Scotia, where he hopes to integrate mental health advocacy into everyday practice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf I can help fill that gap and support people not only physically but mentally, I\u2019d be honoured to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evan insists the recognition is not just about him, but about collective effort. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis award reflects all the great work we\u2019re doing together,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t have done it alone. It\u2019s a team effort and I think the whole community deserves praise for helping support student mental health and well\u2011being.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evan\u2019s message is simple: \u201cCommunities grow stronger when we care for one another; that\u2019s what this work is all about.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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BEDFORD: At just 20, Evan Treffler has already become one of Nova Scotia\u2019s most visible young voices for mental health advocacy, inclusion and human rights. The Dalhousie University medical sciences student was recognized in December with a Nova Scotia Human Rights Award for his leadership in advancing mental health equity and youth empowerment across the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":62018,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[957],"tags":[528,9332,10211,1715,13,10212],"class_list":["post-61991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-bedford","tag-cobequid-community-health-centre","tag-evan-treffler","tag-healthcare","tag-lower-sackville","tag-ns-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=61991"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61991\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/62018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=61991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=61991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=61991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}