Yesterday, I had the pleasure of welcoming back Jay Barnard from Empower2Recover, a familiar voice and a familiar friend to CKDR listeners. This was our second interview together, and once again, Jay brought his signature energy, honesty, and heart to the conversation.
Jay joined me to talk about the upcoming Circle of Hope – Lac Seul’s Battle for Recovery, happening December 5th. It’s the first time Empower2Recover is bringing an event to Lac Seul, and it’s arriving at a time when it’s needed most.
“We actually haven’t done an event in December,” Jay said. “What we know about December is also this time of year is seasonal depression really sets in. And also December is the toughest month for most individuals because of the holiday season. So not only that, just there’s a lot of disconnect with a lot of things throughout December. So that’s why I decided to call it the Circle of Hope event in Lac Seul.”
Presented by the Lac Seul Police Service, the event is a full day of healing, storytelling, and community building. Jay gave a heartfelt shoutout to Tracy Chevrier, the Lac Seul community, and Chief and Council for making it happen.
“It’s a one-day full-day event. There’s some amazing speakers that some people already know. Actually, Russo is one of them. Then we got Gord Sprague and Allison Keisha coming from Quito. We also got Dave David Scott. He’s a retired police officer who’s going to be sharing. We got Genevieve Wesley. She’s in community and has recovery and is doing some amazing things. We’ll have some other speakers to announce in the coming weeks. I’ll be hosting the event.”
Jay continued, “It’s just going to be another day of love, kindness, compassion, hope, sharing stories, different pathways to recovery, bringing community together, showing that recovery is possible in all sorts of different ways.”
Support for the event is strong, with Sioux Lookout First Nation Health Authority stepping in as a gold sponsor, and CKDR proud to be powering the event once again.
Looking ahead, Jay shared that 2026 is already packed with events as Empower2Recover enters its third year as a foundation.
“The Northwestern Ontario Empower2Recover tour, that’s coming back in 2026. So we’ll be starting in Thunder Bay, August 29th, and then we’ll be going to Kenora, Ontario on September 5th, and then we’ll be in Dryden. Dryden, September 11th, we’ll be back here in Dryden at The Center. So I’m excited to come back to Dryden and then we’ll be in Fort Frances on September 29th at the View again.”
Jay’s excitement is contagious. “Now it should be every single month. We should be loud about all forms of recovery, but that’s exciting.”
He also shared plans for events in Nova Scotia, Cornwall, Calgary, Fort McMurray, Lloydminster, and a special celebration in Toronto on February 13th to mark his 18 years in recovery.
“It’s just really exciting to see Canada come together with this national movement that we’ve created, you know, from just this little spark of a dream in my mind, in 2015 when I did the TEDx talk to actually watching it do what it does.”
Jay’s commitment to community is clear. “I’m heading down to the Dryden Friendship Center today to cook with the teens, which is massively exciting, and doing collaboration work with them, and I love that.”
With 226 speakers already featured and 220 community partners, Empower2Recover is growing fast. And in 2026, it’s going digital.
“We’re actually going to be able to live stream the events in 2026. So it doesn’t matter where you are, you will be able to tune into an event free of charge.”
Jay’s message is simple but powerful: “Never give up, keep living the dream because that’s what I’ve done. And if you follow by, you know, faith in my world, I do all the footwork and I leave the rest up to God. And with that, I just show up and everything always happens.”
Circle of Hope is more than an event, it’s a reminder that recovery is alive and well, and that when communities come together, healing happens.
Listen to the full interview with Jay Barnard here.
