After seeing suicide take family and friends, Kimberly Beatty decided to raise awareness by walking from Prince Albert to La Ronge.
Beatty said her step father took his own life five years ago along with other people she knew. This is the third year for the walk, which is seeing 10 people participate.
Beatty was inspired by her grandmother to use social media to get families involved.
“A lot of people feel uneasy when I talk about my loved ones that have passed on due to suicide. It makes them uncomfortable,” Beatty said. “So, when we’re on the walk and talking about our loved ones that are lost and the memories that we have of them it’s like we have this connection where we understand each other.”
Beatty undertook the walk initially as a way of honouring her step father by walking to his home in Montreal Lake.
“We had done a suicide prevention awareness walk about five years ago from Prince Albert to Montreal Lake, where I’m originally from. It was regarding a couple of close friends that I had lost. We had an epidemic, I think 11 suicides in a two year range,” explained Beatty.
For Beatty, the walk is much more than raising awareness, it’s about breaking down stigmas and talking about mental health.
“We have a lot more people open to talk about it. Usually suicide is a taboo subject to talk about. Now a lot of people are like yeah I’m having those type of feelings, can I talk about it now,” said Beatty.
The walk is expected to conclude later this week.
(Photo: Participants walking to La Ronge. Courtesy of Shelley Brown Facebook.)