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HIKE for Mental Health

Hikes that bring hope

A heart-felt thank you

HIKE for Mental Health Posted on by

I want to pass along a note we just received from Dawn Lawless, the executive director of Counseling Connections for Change. Last week, we presented her with a check for $1,600 from our 2015 Pearland Veterans Day Walk.

Leo,

We are super thankful for the financial gift from HIKE for Mental Health. I want to make sure you knew how appreciative we are of this collaboration!

Since receiving your funds, we’ve had confirmation of yet another veteran suicide in our community, and this time it is hitting close to home. The young man connected to [a member of Counseling Connections for Change] related, “I’ve now had more of my platoon die due to suicide than the actual war.”

We are committed to initiating a training course for suicide prevention that can be facilitated to veterans and their families. The HIKE for Mental Health made a huge dent in our proposed $4,000 project budget, and we are grateful!

Please thank the rest of your team and know we are looking forward to partnering with you again next year!

Blessings as you all celebrate Christmas!

Dawn A. Lawless, LCSW, LSOTP, RPT-S
Co-Founder and Executive Director
Counseling Connections for Change, Inc.

Thank you, Dawn, for sharing this note and for the work you and your team do in the trenches of mental health everyday!

Anyone who want to help plan our 2016 Walk is invited to contact me at leo.walker@hikeformentalhealth.org or 603 801-5662.

Comments

A heart-felt thank you — 4 Comments

  1. Hike for Mental Health gave my son, Christopher Potter, a wonderful experience in 2013. He didn’t get to finish the trail, but it was a dream of his to Hike it completely. Christopher passed away November 8, 2015. Knowing he fulfilled part of his dream makes it easier.

    • Louise, we are so sorry for your loss, and so honored to have been a small part helping Christopher realize a part of his dream. Your comment inspired me to go back a read Chris’s sponsor page again. He wrote, in part:

      “Hello. My name is christopher, everyone just calls me chris. I have had a life long goal of thru hiking the approximate 2200 rough, rocky, and steep terrain that follows along the spine of the appilachin mountains. The AT spans from Georgia to Maine across 14 states. I have a brother that suffers from a severe mental illness. It has been so hard on our family. I also have several friends that suffer from post traumatic stress syndrome, and I myself suffer depression. I already wanted to hike the AT to search within myself, and so I can learn to appreciate the simpler things in life. When I saw that I could maybe help find cures for mental health problems around the world, Well, It really made me want to do it. I was hooked for the hike instantly! I want it to be for a cause! Now its not just about me anymore, its about us all now.”

      I’m am so humbled that such a soul was part of us. We are all diminished by his loss.

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