Hey Reddit,

I hope this is allowed here 😄

I’m a Registered Nurse (RN-AAP) currently in the Regina, but I’m moving back to Sandy Bay for a permanent role on June 7th.

Sandy Bay, Saskatchewan

When I worked in Pinehouse, I started a photography club to give the kids an outlet. It worked wonders for their mental health, so I'm doing it again in Sandy Bay, plus trying to get a pickleball league going. I’ve applied for $10k in suicide prevention funding for the program, but I still need the actual gear to get it off the ground.

Pinehouse Lake, Saskatchewan

If you have this stuff sitting in your garage or basement, I’ll take it:

• Gently used runners/sneakers: All youth sizes. A lot of kids literally don't have shoes to play sports, which is a huge barrier up there.
• Digital Cameras: Anything that still works and takes an SD card. Old DSLRs or even point-and-shoots are gold.
• Pickleball gear: Paddles, balls, or nets.

I’m not looking for money—just the gear you’re not using. I’m doing pickups in Regina until I leave on June 6th.

Drop a comment or shoot me a DM and I can swing by. Let’s get these kids some gear.

Thank you so much

Dre Erwin, RN-AAP

https://www.dreerwinphoto.com/

https://preview.redd.it/euyzc37w180h1.jpg?width=8306&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=79356e883714c2595079f11841001b81e486fb2d

https://preview.redd.it/s169knlx180h1.jpg?width=1500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=512312bc099dfa3405b61627945a4d05dfa65408

i’m sharing this because i saw a post about how photography can keep someone alive and it hit me like a ton of bricks. that was me. a few years ago i was at my absolute breaking point. my wife had cheated and left me, i was choosing drinking over everything else, and i was in a deep depression. i was terrified i was gonna lose my job. i was just surviving, not living . In the middle of that darkness i found a camera. shortly after i actually ended up getting caught in a tornado—and i caught it on film. thought i was dead and prayed for. a second chance. the adrenaline of that moment did something to my brain. it was a spark i hadn't felt in years.

i got hooked. i started heading out into the nights in northern saskatchewan chasing the northern lights. when i was out there under the aurora the noise in my head finally went quiet. it was my escape. it was the only place i felt safe.

but the real change happened when the kids up north started seeing my pictures. they didn't just see "pretty lights"—they wanted to know how to do it too. they wanted that same escape. next thing i knew i discovered what i call therapeutic photography. it isn’t about being the best technical photographer or having the most expensive gear. it’s about using the lens to process the things we can’t say out loud.

Photography saved my life.!! now my mission is to show others—especially youth who are struggling—that it can save theirs too. i’m still on the journey but i’m sober, focused, and using my art for a purpose. if ur struggling right now grab whatever camera u have and just go outside. it might be the thing that pulls u back. edit: for those who didn't like me using spell check and wanting this to sound good.