2017 marks the third consecutive year of the Kingston Gatineau Walk for Youth Suicide Prevention. Suicide remains the second leading cause of death among youth.

This year, the Kingston Gatineau walkathon will take place over three days, from April 28 to 30, 2017. I will be accompanied by Rémi Lemieux by bike and Marie-Claude Allard by car to help me meet this walking challenge. Since 2015, our objective has not changed. Our goal is to educate the community about suicide prevention among youth in the Ottawa-Gatineau area. Through the Kingston-Gatineau walk, our goal is to:

– Promote discussions on suicide;
– Foster increased awareness;
– Encourage youth and adults to break the silence; and
– Encourage sufferers to seek professional help.

We will be raising funds for the Lani Foundation, an organization that works with youth between the ages of 12 and 25 years by promoting life projects with a view to preventing suicide.

Among the actions of the Lani Foundation, last year, it allowed a youth suffering from an anxiety disorder to undergo a peer-help training in order to increase her confidence, to continue her journey towards restoring her health. The Lani Foundation also helped a mentally ill young person develop social skills by acquiring new skills in the multimedia field. To learn more about the Lani Foundation, please visit their website at http://www.fondationlani.ca/.

Like last year’s march, it will begin at the Frontenac Community Mental Health in Kingston and end at the Lani Foundation home, a distance of 180 km to be covered in 3 days. During the Kingston-Gatineau march a little over 200,000 steps will be taken as a reminder to the surrounding communities and the Ottawa-Gatineau area, the importance of this noble cause.
You can choose to take a few steps, a few kilometers or carry on for the full three days! To join or for more information, do not hesitate to contact us at: info@marcheenavant.com. You can also follow the activities on the Facebook page: here

For those who wish to join the walk, you can follow our steps by going to this link which informs you about our progress every 5 to 10 minutes: Click here
For those who will not be able to join this walk, your donations to the Lani Foundation will be greatly appreciated: Click here