Coast to coast, youth mental health is a growing concern in Canada. Having lost a niece to suicide in 2011, Kevin Redsky and his wife, Harmony, wanted to enact change and provide a platform for youth to tell their stories and begin the process of healing.
With that, Hope in the Darkness was born.
The non-profit organization brings together young people and communities by creating a safe space for youth to share their experiences and mental health struggles.
Having worked as a police officer for 16 years, Kevin is also concerned with the upward trend of police being the first to respond to mental health crisis calls.
“Times have changed in policing and we just can’t keep up with the times,” he says.
Working on improving relationships between youth and the police is a big part of the organization’s mandate to promote meaningful, positive change in communities.
By partnering with local police departments in the areas Hope in the Darkness travels through, the walking route is not only made safe, but a platform is also created for community members to engage with their police force in a different way.
Kevin acknowledges that youth perception of officers is influenced by media coverage, especially given national Canadian and United States coverage is highlighting tensions between police forces and racial minorities.
“The perception now is youth don’t see police in a good light — either they’re there to arrest parents or apprehend them,” he explains. “So we want to definitely change those relationships and develop better ones with the common goal of creating healthy minds and healthy relationships.”
The four major focuses Hope in the Darkness emphasizes are symbolized by the four matches in its logo.
The first match is to start conversations about mental health — what Kevin describes as igniting “that flame that there is light, there is hope.”
The second match represents missing and murdered indigneous women and girls, with the third connected to racism. The fourth calls for reform in the child welfare system, which played a role in the struggles of the Redskys’ niece.
“She was caught in the system in Winnipeg,” says Kevin, “and the way child welfare is right now — and I know they’re revamping and refocusing — we’re frustrated with the system. It’s a failing system [because] it’s treated as an industry a lot of the time.”
To raise awareness, the Redskys organized a walk across Canada in 2018, with Kevin starting in Newfoundland and another team starting in Haida Gwaii, B.C. Both teams eventually met up at the Canadian Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg.
With both walks, the goal is to facilitate discussion and show people that talking about mental health challenges is OK.
“I’m 44 years old. I’m an indigenous man, so to have an indigenous man speaks volume there that it’s OK to talk,” he explains.
Kevin hopes that when kids and adults hear him speak of his own experiences, they, in turn, will be encouraged to open up. Sharing, he believes, leads to healing.
This year, Kevin decided to finish his national trek and set out for Vancouver from Winnipeg in July.
On Friday, he reached Piikani Nation, bringing with him the Hope in the Darkness message of youth cultural identity, empowerment, and a challenge for the police sector to support the youth in the community they serve.
For Sgt. Bryan Mucha, detachment commander in Fort Macleod, Kevin’s trans-Canada walk symbolizes the unification needed.
“It’s trying to be uniting rather than polarizing. There’s nations all the way across Canada, and he’s trying to draw everybody together and I think so far he’s done a pretty good job with that,” the sergeant notes.
“Sometimes we [as police] get focused on so many other things that are going on that we forget about our youth. Generally in our day-to-day work, as far as the bad things that happen, we don’t necessarily deal with youth a lot. So when we do, I think it needs to be positive and proactive. Building those relationships are key.”
The walk isn’t just about community healing; Kevin takes it as a personal journey of healing for himself.
“I dealt with my own struggles as a kid dealing with racism and kind of looking at all these issues impacting the youth,” he remarks.
Walking such a distance, he continues, is also a mental battle.
“You have your ups and downs, a lot of prayer. I wish miraculously I could find answers out here. There’s just so much prayer, and that in itself is exhausting because you carry that weight,” Kevin says. “You just wish you could accomplish so much more out here. It’s emotional.”
With the passing of other relatives, including his youngest sister taking her own life last year, the spiritual implications of Kevin’s walk help lift him and his family up.
The struggles, however, have brought incredible experiences.
“Back on April 21, the first year [2018], I thought I was done, I thought we were quitting,” Kevin recounts.
“We reached a steep hill with blistering winds, and I thought I was done. Through prayer, I thought of my niece that we lost, my uncle and my grandma who we lost in a short period of time. A lot of prayer there, just ‘I need some help out here.’ “
“The wind did a 180,” he continues, “and I just felt like I floated up that hill. I was in tears. It was a powerful experience that was a turning point, right there, that I was going to finish the journey no matter what.”
Taking a stroll that spans the country is no walk in the park, but it does come with some stunning scenery. So far, Kevin’s favourite stretch has been along the St. Lawrence River in Quebec.
“Walking the St. Lawrence from Trois Rivières and crossing into Quebec City, just the mountains you see, and the river. I still think that’s my favourite, just the waterfalls too you get to see.”
“Saskatchewan kicked my butt. Every day was hot, like 36 degrees,” he relates.
“The only shade we had was under the two bridges in Regina. I’m also a Bombers fan, so I learned to keep that quiet,” he says with a chuckle.
Patience is a big lesson that walking has taught Kevin.
“The walk is not a race. We’re not doing anybody any good if I’m going to race to the finish line,” he shares.
“So take it literally one step at a time, you’re gonna get there, just be patient. Learning a lot about patience with this walk, and with Covid this year. That’s why we don’t look too far ahead, just the next step and next town.”
For individuals approaching mental health challenges, the process seems to be identical to his walk: you need to take it one day at a time, literally step by step.
“Hope. That’s the key message,” Kevin says with a nod. “We want to create hope. I have hope, I’ve seen the success stories out here. Everybody is on a healing journey, and the key word all the time is ‘hope.’ ”
So far, the Hope in the Darkness walk is on schedule, with stops arranged in Lundbreck and Coleman before arrival in British Columbia today. Kevin plans to take a full five weeks to make it through the B.C. interior, with the goal being to arrive in Vancouver on Oct. 12.
People interested in keeping track of Kevin’s journey can follow along at www.hopeinthedarknessca.wordpress.com. Exclusive Hope in the Darkness merchandise in support of the organization can be purchased from the website.
A GoFundMe campaign is also available, for those who wish to donate towards improving youth mental health, at https://bit.ly/walkinghope.
