His pushcart is a little beat up, and so is he. But Neil Hamell, 40, is determined to walk 1,100 kilometers to get people talking openly about mental health.
He will make his way to Guelph over the weekend, en route from St. Catharines, where he was born, to Timmins, where he was raised.
He was on day 15 of the walk on Friday, and estimated he had put about 300 km on his shoes so far. He hiked south from St. Catharines to Niagara Falls first, then dipped even further south through Welland and Port Colborne before heading north.He was just west of Cambridge Friday morning, after spending the night camped in a field.
Sitting in the grass on the rim of a ditch, the morning sun blazing down, Hamell said it has been a struggle to get his body going first thing. He has been exhasted in the early stages of the journey.
Living mostly on a monthly disability cheque, he said he dedicated his life to helping other people about six years ago. He will keep doing that, no matter how tired his body gets. He lives in London, and volunteers his time at the London Intercommunity Health Centre.
Last summer he hatched a plan to help fund a homeless shelter in Timmins by walking there and collecting moeny along the way. A friend in the northern Ontario city told him the facility was in bad need of upgrades. But after that friend lost her job for speaking out, Hamell shifted his purpose.
“By then I was into the planning,” he said. “I always wanted to do a walk like that, and now I just want people to be aware of mental health, to talk about it and maybe donate funds to a worthy cause related to it.”
One in five people struggle with mental health challenges, he said. Those who live in poverty, he added, are three times more likely to suffered from mental illness.
“Everybody knows someone who is either living in poverty or suffering from mental illness,” he said. “I want everyone to reach out to those people.”
Learn more about Hamell’s Extreme Journey: Poverty and Mental Health Awareness Walk at his website, www.extremejourney22.com. Also look for it on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
“I was diagnosed at a very early age with learning disabilities, and I struggled all my life with that,” said the father of two children. “It developed into illness, into depression in my early 20s, and it got really severe in my 30s. I wanted to end my life, because I couldn’t get that structure in life that is so important. I still don’t have it, but I live a pretty decent life. I like what I’m doing now.”
Asked if he thought the long-distance walk would help his mental health, he said with a laugh that it was unlikely. “It could make it a lot worse.”
So far, Hamell has what he needs in terms of funds, food and gear to make the trek. He said he has trouble asking for money, but he is accepting donations if they are offered.
Hamell has received three tattoos so far on the trip – one in St. Catherines, another in Thorold, and the third in Hamilton, all donated by tattoo artists that believe in what’s doing. He has been asking tattoo parlours to support him with a tattoo. In Timmins he will get one that illustrates all the communities he stopped on his journey.
“I’ve been doing up to 30 km a day, and no less than 15 or 20,” he added. “Getting up in the morning and getting going is the hardest part. I’m just really tired. It’s a lot to ask of your body.”
Mental illness is a very difficult subject for people to talk about, he added.
“I just want to reach out and get people talking about it,” he said. “I’m doing this because it’s an entertaining way to talk about it. It’s too severe of a problem to not talk about.”