Lift is a Montreal-based non-profit organization that helps at-risk youth by teaching them about healthy lifestyle choices from nutrition to exercise.
“The main goal is to prevent addiction, delinquency, and high school dropouts,” Jonathan Sbrollini, an addiction counsellor and Lift’s director, said.
A holistic approach to developing healthy habits is a core belief at Lift and is something Sbrollini knows a little about.
“I actually went to rehab four years ago, believe it or not,” Sbrollini said.
He credits healthy living for helping him get his life back on track.
“I started studying addiction counselling, started to get super healthy, became a personal trainer at the same time and just realized that with a healthy mind, body and soul you can prevent pretty much any harmful situation from happening.”
Nutritionist Claudine Larivìere agreed, adding that healthy habits especially when it comes to food, are key.
“We fuel on nutrients. It all starts with food,” she said.
Making children aware of what their body needs helps them reconnect with themselves, according to Larivière.
“They’re much more productive,” she said. “We’ve seen such great transformations at the camp this summer.”
Lift ran its first week-long camp for at-risk youth over the summer and is organizing a second camp in January.
Activities include yoga, physical conditioning, visual arts and a slew of workshops on a variety of topics.
In Sbrollini’s words the camp is “an awesome experience.”
“They go out of the city for seven days and eat healthy food, move around and have some fun,” he said. “Emphasis on fun.”
Lift is organizing a fundraiser wellness retreat in Sutton over the weekend. The goal is to allow adults not only to contribute to Lift’s mission but to experience it for themselves.
To learn more about the retreat and other programs offered by Lift you can visit the Lift website.
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