A walk next month at North Bay’s waterfront will raise funds to fight depression.

It’s called the Defeat Depression Walk/Run.

Organizer Ken Porter says the event will be held Saturday May 25th with registration at 9 am with the walk starting at 10:30.

He says they hope to raise a total of $10,000 with half of that already pledged.

Porter says the funds will pay for peer to peer support for people with mental illness.

“And that’s providing direct one on one assistance. The more peer support workers in the community the more we’re able to help,'” he says.

On the committee involved in the event is Mark Caldwell who lost his father to suicide.

“Someone’s got to step in. If that has to be me to make up the difference by honoring my father’s memory in that way that’s what I’m going to do,” he says.

There are 4,000 suicides in Canada every year.

Caldwell has raised over $62,000 for various mental health awareness initiatives.

Porter says depression costs the Canadian economy over $32.3 billion a year so it’s important to get help if you need it. For more information go to www.defeatdepression.ca

Filed under: Defeat Depression, fundraising walk