THUNDER BAY — A provincial grant is enhancing mental health programming to create a safe space for the local skateboard community.

The Female Boarder Collective and Cinema 5 Skatepark received a nearly $100,000 grant last month from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to enhance mental health programs, staff training and inclusive initiatives that support suicide prevention and well-being for youth.

Vanessa Bowles, executive director of the Female Boarder Collective, said Thunder Bay's suicide rate is extremely high.

“Last year I had a friend, her son committed suicide and there have been so many in our community, not just in our skateboard community but in our community, and one is just too many," she said.

So far, the boarder collective and Cinema 5 Skatepark have used the Ontario Trilli

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