Top 2 Bottom

Top 2 Bottom

Cycling Across the Country to Fundraise for Mental Health

Written by Sophie Traube, WELA Volunteer

During the COVID-19 pandemic, my friend Max Hobhouse and I decided to undergo a massive feat to fundraise for a relevant and vital cause: mental health. This feat would entail cycling across the over 4200-miles of North America. We chose to represent James’ Place in the U.K., a suicide prevention charity for men focusing on getting all men to know they had a place in this world. Our second charity was the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in the US, an organization working to provide advocacy, education, support, and public awareness surrounding mental health. We were both new to cycling, and we had no idea what to expect and so much to learn even about ourselves. What we were sure of, however, is that although the future of COVID-19 was out of our hands, we could do something for the coinciding pandemic: the mental health crisis.

With little notice and support, the mental health crisis has persisted for over a decade. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Justice, the overall suicide rate in the U.S. has increased by 35% since 1999 majority are teenagers and young adults between the ages of 13 and 24. Suicide has become the second leading cause of death among this age group.

We have been aging in a period of acceleration made possible by the advancement of technology. Everything is moving faster, getting bigger, and growing more complex. With information, news, and social media literally at our fingertips, we are expected to connect and understand at a different level... and we are! But like with everything, this indeed comes indeed with a cost. The expectation to connect through social media makes us feel isolated and prone to comparisons. The constant stream of negative news about the demise of the planet (social and political upheaval, the climate crisis, war, etc.) leaves us feeling hopeless and scared to the point of numbness. We are pushing into our phones and away from each other, moving further and further away from what it truly means to be human: in-person communication, going outside, exercising, and so much more.

All of this is exasperating forced isolation in the pandemic, When we saw a problem we felt a call to action. Max and I decided there was no time like the present to create available resources and spread awareness. So on June 12th of this year, we set out from Portland, Oregon to cycle across the country to our final destination in New York City, New York. The journey proved similar to the nature of mental health itself: lots of ups and downs (both physically and mentally). Any moments of reminding ourselves to preach Bear Grylls’ motto, “improvise, adapt, overcome.” With many unforgettable memories made and life lessons learned on the route, we arrived in New York City 2 months later, on August 11th.

On arrival, it seemed the question we received the most was: how did you keep going? To us it was simple. We believed in the cause we set out to raise money,but more so, with every pedal push, our belief became stronger. We were able to see so many different sides of the United States and meet a massive array of people. With each passing day, we realized how much awareness remains to obtain. And how many lives would be changed if the subject of mental health wasn’t so heavily stigmatized.

Although the cycling component of our fundraising event is over, donations will remain open for the coming months. We are at around 59% of our goal for James’ Place and 20% for NAMI. With your help, we can raise money for these charities, which will benefit lives nationwide and save them. For information on contributing or learning more about our ride, please visit our website www.toptobottomusa.org. If you would like to view videos and images from our adventure, check out our Instagram @t2busa.

The message is quite simple: everyone, no matter their background, geography, age, or wealth, deserves access to professional resources, so please donate!

James Place Donations: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/t2busa

NAMI Donations: https://donate.nami.org/fundraiser/3176681