Mental Health and Wellness Wednesdays celebrated with 1km walk

A popular Windsor Wellness tradition is back, marking a major milestone this year.

Wellness Wednesdays, also known as Walking Wednesdays, celebrated the 10^th anniversary of the event Wednesday.

It’s part of the Canadian Mental Health Association’s (CMHA) “Sole Focus Project.”

The initiative started as a workplace break for employees at Caesars Windsor and the city of Windsor and has grown into a city-wide movement. Now, participants include Windsor Police Service (WPS), Windsor Fire, the University of Windsor- and St. Clair college.

Every Wednesday in May, walkers gather at Charles Clark Square at 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. wearing the colour teal to show support for mental health. The group then heads out on a one kilometre walk along the Riverfront trail and back to work.

Windsor Police Service Chief of Police Jason Crowley was on hand in support of police officers who also participated in Wednesday’s walk – and wholeheartedly supports the wellness effort.

“The wellness piece in policing is a big part of what we talk about an hour,” said Chief Crowley. “When I started and years ago, we didn’t talk about it. So, this is just one piece. Again, we support the mental health association, and we love to participate in it and get our people out and get active and it gets out of the office.”

“The Sole Focus Project is a community campaign launched by the Canadian Mental Health Association, Windsor-Essex County Branch (CMHA-WECB) in 2017 to raise funds for mental health awareness, education, training, and bereavement services. It focuses on fostering resilience, reducing stigma, and encouraging people to seek help, aiming to lower the burden on the healthcare system,” a statement from CMHA reads.