Hope in the Darkness walk puts spotlight on youth mental health

A cross Canada walk to raise awareness for youth mental health issues is serving as a call to action to support youth in crisis.

Hope in the Darkness, a national walk for youth mental health, stopped in Swift Current over the weekend to draw attention to indigenous suicide rates and take a stand in support of increasing programming to benefit youth mental health.

Cst. Mitchell Boulette is the lead walker for the West Coast Route, which started at Masset in Haida Gwaii, BC and winds through Alberta and Saskatchewan before ending in Winnipeg on August 3. A walk covering Eastern Canada, which started from Cape Spear, St. John’s, Newfoundland on April 1, will also conclude in Winnipeg during the first Friday of August.

Boulette is sharing his personal story of the impact of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and his own suicidal thoughts, and the painful impact of a cousin who committed suicide.

“I never thought I’d walk through Alberta or Saskatchewan or Manitoba. I’ve driven through it, but just to be a part of this is really amazing,” he said of his participation in the walk.

“It has been amazing. Some days it is tough to go out and walk. But after going and talking to people, it gives you the inspiration to go out.”

He noted that last month when he was nearing the end of his planned time with the walk, and was questioning whether it was worth giving up his holidays for the endeavour, when he experienced a series of inspirational moments which fuelled his dedication to completing the walk.

During a tough walking day he picked up a dime, which many people interpret that it signifies a loved one who has passed on, who is thinking of you and letting you know you are on the right path. At the time he was thinking about his cousin who took his life, and was talking to him as inspiration during that leg of the walk. When he took the dime out of his pocket he noticed it was from 2016, the year his cousin took his life.

“You know what, this is a sign I’m definitely supposed to be on this walk,” he thought to himself.

He has also been touched by the reaction he gets to sharing his story. He recalled that during a reconciliation walk in Calgary, he shared his story and many in the audience were crying because of the impact of his message.

Walk founder Kevin Redsky then spoke to him about seeing how they could keep him on the walk. He has since taken a brief leave of absence to complete the final two weeks of the walk.

When making presentations, when he asks if people have a family member or if they personally know someone who has taken their life by suicide, most people put their hands up.

He reflected that he had overwhelming emotions when trying to understand his own cousin’s suicide.

“I felt guilt. I felt angry. I felt all these emotions. And it touches you. You can’t help but feel ‘what could I have done.’”

“I call it the silent killer because you don’t know somebody is suffering until it is too late. My cousin, he was one of those jokesters, he was always laughing and always trying to make people laugh. And we didn’t know until it was too late.”

Boulette experienced his own mental health issues following his cousin’s suicide, followed by the loss of four family members to health issues, and combined with pressures from his police work.

“I was struggling. And it took me to a dark place where I felt like taking my own life.”

He says he was fortunate to have reached out for help, where he was diagnosed with PTST and was off work for eight months.

“I was in fear for my career, the job I’ve always wanted. If I came forward I didn’t know if I would be able to come back to work or be a police officer any more. So I was really scared to tell anybody.”

That help has allowed him to return to work, and he has been back on the job for two years.

“That’s why I took the time off work because it’s something that has effected me, and it has effected my family, and I know it effects everybody.”

“So I come and share my message and tell people that there’s hope,” he said. “There are institutions, there are agencies out there that can help you.”

For more information about Hope in the Darkness visit https://hopeinthedarknessca.wordpress.com/ or view their Facebook page www.facebook.com/walkforyouthmentalhealth/