A big thank you to all the hikers, hike leaders, walkers, sponsors and supporters that made 2014 a record year for HIKE for Mental Health!! 2014 drew a dozen new hike leaders, nearly 200 hikers and more than 80 walkers, along with more than 1,000 sponsors and supporters, to participate in HIKE for Mental Health’s effort.

HIKE for Mental Health is proud to award more than $5,400 to Texas veterans groups from its 2014 Veterans Day Walk for PTSD Awareness in Pearland, TX. We presented more than $2,400 in workbooks and treatment materials to the William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, and we awarded $3,000 to Pearland VFW Post 7109 to increase services.

On a clear autumn day, 17 hikers came from as far away as Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, and North Carolina to hike with Susan “jackrabbit” Letcher. As usual, Susan hiked barefoot and paused to read a passage from Southbound on a rest break near the pond. The hike, however, was not a revisiting of the past but a celebration of a glorious fall day, a great HIKE for Mental Health, a time to meet new friends in a gorgeous, natural setting, and a statement that we will overcome the stigma associated with mental illness.