As Mike Loughman spoke to the people who had gathered at Airdrie's Fletcher Park to welcome him home after 41 days on the road, he joked, "I feel like I need to walk somewhere."

You could see why he'd feel that way.  Loughman had just finished a journey that lasted 41 days and covered over 1,000 kms from High Level to Airdrie on what was dubbed, "Mike's March for Mental Health."

Loughman said the gruelling trek had challenged him both physically and mentally.  "Physically I thought I might not be able to do this.  Mentally, I thought I could.   Physically the first two and a half weeks were pretty painful but I made it though it, I just had to push through mentally.  All the other people and supportive words really pushed me through it."

Loughman undertook the journey as a way to bring awareness to mental health and addictions issues, something Loughman has struggled with for much of his life.  He was also trying to raise funds for the Thumbs Up Foundation of Airdrie and the Defeat Depression Campaign.  Loughman believes accomplished his goal of raising awareness.   

"I know I accomplished raising awareness. I could tell by all the posts I was getting on facebook, all the towns I was going through, I had people calling me that I don't know that saw my poster or saw me on facebook, they would call me and say, 'what you're doing is so inspirational, I have a problem with mental health,' they would be crying on the phone, people would pull over on the side of the road, they would be crying and hug me, hand me money.  I had people that have been sober this entire time, they told me when I started my journey they decided to try to get sober and I checked in with them every day and they're sober.  I know it because I was told it and I think that's really cool."

It's the people that Loughman met on his walk that left an indelible mark on him.  

"I met several cool people.  One named Heather met me on the side of the road and brought me some ice cream, some water and handed me some money and gave me a hug and she was crying and we talked for a bit.  Wendy Contant's sister Diane, she stopped and brought me grapes and these inspirational quotes to hand out to people.  I met someone in every town that blew my mind.  Mike in Paddle Prairie, Carol in Peace River.  I can't even think about them all."

Loughman says next for him is his fundraiser, October 7th, the third annual Unmask Mental Health event.  "It's a Halloween themed walk and runathon."  And, he has a new event in the works.  

"While I was on this journey I planned it, I think I'm going to call it Mental Images.   I'm taking poets who have suffered from mental health and addictions or have gone through abuse or trauma and painters who have gone through something as well.  The painter picks a poem that was written and paints to that poem and we're having an auction running from October 1st to 31st and auctioning off the painting."

Because of the report that indicated Airdrie suffered a four times higher rate of domestic abuse than other places in the province, Loughman says 50 per cent of the money will be donated to Airdrie Power, the group trying to get a women's shelter built i the city.  The remainder of proceeds will go to the Defeat Depression Campaign.  

Loughman says the donation page at MikesMarch.DefeatDepresion.ca will remain open until the end of August so people can still give to his walk.  

Loughman isn't slowing down with his efforts to cast light on mental illness issues, but for right now, he has other things to do.  "I'm going to go home, eat some spaghetti and meatballs, pet my cat, lie in bed and watch a lot of TV." 

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