Rucksack march raises funds to help veterans and first responders
With Remembrance Day less than a week away, a charity walk Sunday honoured the physical and mental aspects of what soldiers and first responders go through in the line of duty.
The fifth annual 22-kilometre Rucksack March for Remembrance at Rundle Park helps raise awareness and funds for Wounded Warriors Canada — a non-profit mental health provider for first responders, veterans and their families.
An organizer chose that distance and the weight each participant held in their backpack after learning of a 2015 study stating 22 U.S. veterans commit suicide daily.
"The mental struggle that people are going through, we kinda wanted to make that 22 kilos become like a metaphor, like a physical weight instead of a mental weight that you are carrying," said Ian Hall.
Hall, a current Edmonton firefighter who previously served in the Canadian Armed Forces, said the long walk allows for reflection and forces participants to talk, which is where the starting point for positive mental health starts.
"Your brain will start saying things like, do you need to keep going, do you need to keep walking," Hall added. "That voice, that we all have in the back of our heads, that we don't need to do this, we don't need to keep going, we don't need to continue the struggle."
"If we can prevent people from having occupation stress and post-traumatic stress issues, then obviously, we can decrease the suicides."
"Vets, military members, first responders have chosen to do a job, and they do a job for society," Hall said.
"This is another way to reflect on the unseen deaths from the work they do."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Repetitive partisan conduct': Conservatives to force vote on ousting Speaker Greg Fergus
The federal Conservatives have advanced a motion that will force MPs to vote on whether to oust Greg Fergus as House of Commons Speaker, after MPs' deputy adjudicator ruled Monday that the Liberal member's allegedly errant partisan event invite required urgent attention.
What a CBSA strike could look like, according to an expert
Slowed or interrupted travel, the passing of goods and significantly restricted borders should be expected if Canadian border workers take upcoming strike action.
B.C. senior prepares to move due to devastating effects of fraud
A Courtenay, B.C., senior is downsizing and packing to move as she comes to accept she can no longer afford to stay in her home, after falling victim to a scam that robbed her of her life savings worth more than $100,000.
WATCH Alta. man rescues wild foal trapped on steep cliffside
A man's daring rescue of a newborn wild foal that was trapped after falling down a steep embankment was caught on video over the weekend.
'Decades-long fight': MPs unanimously pass 'anti-scab' legislation
A bill that would ban federal employers from using replacement workers or 'scabs' during lockouts or strikes passed the House of Commons unanimously on Monday.
Netanyahu acknowledges 'tragic mistake' after Rafah strike kills dozens of Palestinians
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged Monday that a "tragic mistake" had been made after an Israeli strike in the southern Gaza city of Rafah set fire to a tent camp housing displaced Palestinians and, according to local officials, killed at least 45 people.
Mike Tyson had medical issue on cross-country flight
Boxing legend Mike Tyson required medical attention after experiencing an 'ulcer flare up' toward the end of a cross-country flight Sunday, his representatives confirmed to the New York Post.
81-year-old arrested after police say he terrorized a California neighbourhood with a slingshot
An 81-year-old man who investigators say terrorized a Southern California neighbourhood for years with a slingshot has been arrested, police said.
Why Canada's big grocery stores are under investigation
Amid mounting outrage over high grocery prices, a retail expert says there's a solution to fostering more competition in the country.