Mental health walk to cover city

A three-day walk around Lloydminster will be a stepping stone for former resident Paul Laberge to promote mental health in six cities, then walk all across Canada.

Laberge talked about his plans to help Canadians open up and talk about mental health and suicide as a guest speaker at the Rotary Club of Lloydminster on Monday.

The inspirational speaker and mental health advocate is planning to kick off his second Walk the Talk since 2019 at Bud Miller All Seasons Park May 5-7.

Laberge was supported by residents on his first walk from Saskatoon to Lloydminster to raise awareness of mental health and remember his dad who committed suicide in 2018.

“A smile is the most dangerous mask out there because we try to hide our struggles and how to deal with them. That’s exactly why I want to walk across Canada,” said Laberge.

“My plan is, I want to start to walk here in Lloyd first.” ing from Bud Miller to try to raise awareness about mental health and suicide and fundraise for mental health resources.

Funds from his initial Walk the Talk went to the Lloydminster Region Health Foundation for Project Sunrise.

Laberge told Rotary he has been diagnosed with PTSD and anxiety and depression and finds talking about it is good medicine.

He says his nickname at work is Happy, so the advice works.

“I try to encourage people to open up. It makes life easier to open up. Your story is out there, you have nothing to hide,” he said.

Laberge wants to get schools, sports teams, all businesses, the RCMP and firefighters involved and is looking for volunteers to help to spread the word.

He plans to walk 12 hours a day start -

Laberge says what he plans to do in Lloyd is a building block for what he wants to do in six other cities.

“I want to go to six cities in Canada. I want mental health to fall underneath the health system, so when you’ve got to a therapist, you don’t have to pay like $250. It’s like going to see a doctor, it’s for free,” he said.

After that, he aims to walk across Canada setting 2025 as a target date and raising money for mental health research.

“If we don’t have the research, we don’t have the resources, so we’re going to continue to struggle,” he explained.

Laberge offers mental health advice on his One Step Forward Facebook page.

The mental health advocate currently lives in Saskatoon and commutes to work up north, but he hopes to move back to Lloydminster one day with a new set of aspirations in mind.

“I’d like to become a full-time speaker and share my message and start doing workshops and try to help people with their mental health struggles,” he said.

Laberge previously worked on Project Little Bear for Lloydminster Sexual Assault Services setting up toy bins around the city for children’s services.