‘Turning pain into purpose:’ N.S. father creates bracelets in honour of late son

Joel Brown created Maverick Mood Bracelets to honour his late son. (Vanessa Wright/CTV News Atlantic)

Joel Brown is always looking for ways to honour his son Maverick.

“I miss his smile. I miss playing with him. I miss hugging him. I miss his personality. I miss everything about him. He was the perfect kid,” says Brown.

Three-year-old Maverick was playing outside his Bedford, N.S., home when he was accidentally struck and killed in 2025.

Saturday marks one year since his tragic passing.

“The worst part about my grief was after the numbness, and after a few months, everyone else went back to their lives and I was kind of stuck standing still. I felt alone,” says Brown.

Which is why he created Maverick Mood Bracelets.

“Maverick Mood Bracelets are a way for people to feel seen, heard and not alone,” Brown says. “It’s a band and a bracelet that you can wear around your arm or your wrist. Each color represents something different, whether it be PTSD, anxiety, you just went through a bad breakup, you’re struggling through addiction, cancer survivor, loss of a loved one.

“You name it, it’s there. You wear what you’re going through so you can connect to people locally.”

The barcode on the bracelet takes people to a website where they can talk to others.

“It’s a peer support group. You join, you share as much or as little information about yourself as you would like. You then can join the group based on the bracelet that you’re wearing or whatever it is that you’re going through. You can talk in a group setting, you can talk privately, or you can simply just watch and just observe,” says Brown.

With every box sold, a 50-cent donation will be made to a mental health organization.

“People don’t have the money for therapy. And even though this doesn’t substitute therapy, for the cost of $25, you can let people know what’s going on, on the inside without actually having a say a word and have a safe place to go,” says Brown. “I want to help people struggling with mental health. I don’t think there’s enough of it. ”

The business officially launched on Monday, but Brown already has big plans for it.

“My goal is that these bracelets are seen all over the province, that everybody who has gone through some grief that feels alone will purchase them,” he says. “I wish they didn’t have to be created in honor of his death. But I feel like I can’t change the past. I can only change the future.

“Turning that pain into purpose can help other people go through what I went through when I was feeling alone. And I know that if Maverick was still here, he would just be proud and he would be playing with them and he would say, ‘Daddy, I’m so proud of you.’”

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