Chetwynd resident walks to raise awareness for mental health

CHETWYND, B.C. – A Chetwynd resident is raising awareness for mental health by taking part in the 3rd Annual Mental Health Walk.

Stan Fraser is a mental health advocate, and he says he’s just trying to raise awareness by participating in the walk. In an article on the Argo Road Maintenance website — his longtime employer — Fraser says people judge what they don’t know.

“I believe there are a lot of issues out there, that people suffer in silence because of the stigma that goes along with mental illness,” said Fraser. “There’s a lot of people that go through tough times silently. There are a lot of suicides happening because we don’t understand. We don’t know, but we like to judge.”

Fraser says he walks to raise awareness, similar to how Terry Fox ran to raise awareness for cancer.

“I took to walking because we can only — in my opinion — tackle this thing one step at a time. When you’re covering kilometres, say 555 from Fort Nelson to Chetwynd, it starts to get a bit overwhelming, but it’s achievable when you do it one step at a time, and that’s what I gotta do.”

Starting at 8 a.m. on Sunday, October 3rd, the event will start with an Opening Prayer at the Moberly Lake Fire Hall, walking 28 kilometres to Spirit Park in Chetwynd with drummers. Guest speakers Dave Milgaard, Connie Greyeyes and Jillian Frederick, will be at the event.

According to the event poster, the last 5 kilometres are in memory of residential school children.

“By walking together, we will be raising awareness, promoting our social well-being, sharing support and breaking the stigma around mental illness,” reads the poster.

Pre-registration for the event is required. Contact Charla Brazeau: [email protected]

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