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Some lines of work require much more sacrifice than others — like military personnel and emergency responders. They’re regularly confronted with trauma — which can have detrimental results, like post-traumatic stress disorder. Now more tonight on what three men who suffer from PTSD are doing to shed light on an issue affecting thousands of Canadians.
Blisters and sore feet are just some of the aches and pains Jason McKenzie and his friends Steve Hartwig and Scott McFarlane are enduring these days as the three military veterans march across Canada for a cause that impacts each one of them.
Jason McKenzie: “Bring awareness to PTSD, which has almost in recent years reached epidemic suicide rates in our country.”
Scott McFarlane: “At least 10 percent of the population and that can be any frontline worker, police, dispatchers, doctors, anybody. In the last year or so, there have been over 50 suicides on the Canadian Forces that are related to PTSD.”
All three friends suffer from PTSD symptoms. while they say the level of support from the Canadian Military has greatly improved since they served, they want more to be done for vets transitioning to civilian life.
Steve Hartwig: “Help people in society understand the signs and symptoms that come into a PTSD diagnosis, so that is the main goal. It’s very common in our society — it’s the diagnosis that’s not. We want to break the stigma and get the awareness out there for them.”
They cover 32 kilometres each day during their march which they’ve called “into no man’s land.” They started in Victoria and are heading to St. John’s, adding new stops along the way — connecting with people on an issue that they say affects far too many.
Jason McKenzie: “We’re opening that dialogue and hopefully making it more comfortable for people to seek the help and come forward.”
One small step at a time.
The men expect to get to St. John’s by mid-September. But, as mentioned, they continue to hear from new towns or military bases who want them to stop by so that end date may get pushed back. Into no man’s land is also raising funds along the way — more information on how to donate can be found on the Into No Man’s Land website.
