A message from Hall Across the Country President Joe Hall:
I have spent most of my adult life struggling with depression, anxiety, and low self-worth. This battle reached a breaking point in 2020. During the Covid pandemic, having lost my warehouse management job, and having torn a bicep (my second in four years), I was then involved in a motorcycle accident. All this happened within the span of three months, and I thought it was more than I could overcome.
I actively tried to take my own life during the first two nights in the trauma unit.
Luckily, due to a combination of exhaustion and trauma and swelling limiting my range of motion, I never succeeded.
This birthed a determination to turn my thoughts away from suicide. I made the decision on the third day to run a marathon in 2021. I accomplished that goal in October, finishing the Nationwide Columbus Children’s Hospital marathon. Feeling like there was more out there, I set off five weeks later for Arizona to compete in a 48-hour ultramarathon to raise money for Toys for Kids at Dayton Children’s Hospital.
Even after completing those ventures, something still felt unattained, like there was more “out there.” Amid another downward mental health slide, I came across a music video on YouTube by Mike Posner, “Live Before I Die.” It inspired me in 2022 to take on the challenge of traversing the country on foot. The goal of the walk was to raise awareness for mental health and suicide prevention, as well as generate funds for behavioral health at Dayton Children’s Hospital in honor of a friend who lost her son, Jaxon to suicide in 2020. It was at that moment that “Hall Across the Country” was born. I departed Rehoboth Beach, Delaware on 5/15/2022 and reached Ocean Beach in San Francisco, California on my 40th birthday, 11/22/2022.
This time, I have my sights set on all lower 48 states and their capitals. My goal is to meet with legislators, and those responsible for enacting policy, along the way, to discuss their views on the growing mental health crisis and what they have done, are doing, or plan to do to improve it among their constituents and in our country. Along the way I am hoping that by sharing my story we can encourage others to feel comfortable enough to talk about their struggles and build a community of people helping each other through their mental health battles.
Mental health issues among children and teens in the United States are on the rise, with recent numbers showing that the suicide rate for young Americans ages 10 to 19 jumped by 40 percent from 2001 to 2019. U.S. Surgeon General Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy is using his position to call attention to the issue, speaking with students, health care workers and community groups across the country about what he calls “the defining public health crisis of our time” and how to address it. (“The Surgeon General’s New Mission: Adolescent Mental Health,” 3/21/23.)
Feel free to join in, follow along, and contribute as we march down these goals together, starting 5/15/2024, the two-year anniversary of the beginning of “Hall Across the Country”.
If I am in your area, reach out and let’s cover miles to benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP).
In-kind donations are also accepted as well. If you’d care to donate items, feel free to reach out to us at HallAcrossTheCountry@gmail.com if you’d prefer this over a monetary donation.