Make your hike a HIKE for Mental Health
Many people who live far from our New Jersey – New York hiking area have asked how they can participate in the work of HIKE for Mental Health. Here is the answer. More info…
Love Hiking? Want To Do Good Along The Way?
Join our inaugural 2012 fund-raising hikes! The schedule of one- and three-day hikes is coming soon. More info…
A Love of Hiking and a Simple Vision
HIKE for Mental Health is a registered nonprofit organization born of a single vision: a world in which everyone, including those who suffer from mental illness, can find the simple joy of living. More info…
Mental Health News
A Touching Story of a Loved One’s Battle
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Brian Hughes was born to Patrick and Brigid Hughes and lived with the invisible disability of bi-polar schizophrenia. Susan Letcher posted this touching story of how mental illness affects sufferers and families on our Facebook page, so we want to share it with our supporters and followers. More info…
Help Support Promising New Depression Research
Depression can manifest as early as 3 years old and can give way to future disorders. Finding treatment options at such a young age has been challenging. New research is changing that. More info…
Promising Map of Brain Development Brings Hope
For the first time, scientists have created a comprehensive brain map of changes in gene expression from prenatal development through adulthood, creating a reference point from which to understand the development of brain pathologies such as schizophrenia. More info…
Understanding the Circuitry of Depression
Neuroscientists such as Karl Deisseroth are pushing the boundaries of our understanding of how the brain works to reveal the circuitry of depression. More info…
Survey Revealed Attitudes Regarding Schizophrenia
The good news: most people recognize that schizophrenia is an illness and that it can be treated. The bad news…
More info…
On the Trail
Part Three of our exclusive interview with Susan Letcher
This week we conclude our interview with Susan Letcher. Now a tropical ecologist and assistant professor of environmental studies, Susan made history as one of the Barefoot Sisters who completed a round-trip thru-hike, a yo-yo, of the Appalachian Trail. More info…
Part Two of our exclusive interview with Susan Letcher
In part two of our interview with Susan Letcher, one of the Barefoot Sisters who famously yo-yo-ed the AT just over 10 years ago, she talks about “one of the hardest things to revisit” from the hike. More info…
Exclusive interview with Susan Letcher
HIKE for Mental Health would likely not exist if the Barefoot Sisters, Susan Letcher and her sister Lucy, had not completed their famous yo-yo thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. Here is part one of our three part interview with Susan. More info…
2012 Summer and Fall Hikes Announced
Amazing panoramic views, glacier-carved ponds, and the chance to get away from the hustle and bustle of life – that is what the wilderness trails in New York and New Jersey bestow on those who venture onto them. You will feel like you are in a whole different world. Because you are. Check out our scheduled hikes. More info…
“This mountain chain feels very wise…”
So said AT thru-hike recordholder Jennifer Pharr Davis when asked by National Geographic what fascinates her about hiking the Appalachian Trail. More info…

