Arthur Foulkes
The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE —
Steve Curran could not get out of bed Tuesday morning because of depression.
But by the afternoon, he was walking energetically with several supporters across the Wabash River bridge into Terre Haute as part of a mega-trek to Washington, D.C., to increase depression awareness.
“I’ve suffered from depression since I was a teenager,” Curran said after arriving at a small rally at Fairbanks Park in honor of his walk.
“Depression is one of the easiest-treated diseases, but it carries so much shame and stigma,” he said.
Curran, 55, started his walk with three “teammates” Aug. 14 in St. Louis, Curran’s hometown. The four plan to finish their 835-mile trek in the nation’s capital on Oct. 7, which is National Depression Screening Day.
The goal of the walk is to “knock down the stigma” of depression, said Galen Goode, CEO of Hamilton Center, who took part in the rally in the park. By coming through Terre Haute, Curran and his team are providing an opportunity for Hamilton Center to help raise awareness about the mental health needs in our community, he said.
Hamilton Center is the largest provider of mental health services in the area. The organization, which serves 10 counties, employs about 700 people, Goode said.
“We support any advocacy group that is helping to spread the word that there is a lot of effective treatment out there for people with mental health needs,” Goode said.
Curran told the approximately 50 supporters at the rally that depression is a disease that can be treated with medications in the same way other diseases such as diabetes can be. Years ago, it was difficult for people to openly discuss breast cancer and AIDS, he said. Now, great strides have been made battling those diseases and he believes similar strides can be made fighting depression.
“We’ve got to step forward,” Curran told the audience. “Our disease is bigger than all the others combined. … We’ve got to put a face on it.”
The rally, which lasted from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the outdoor theater at Fairbanks Park, included live music from The Mac Daddys. It also included other speakers, including Myra Wilkey, executive director of Mental Health America of Vigo County. Representatives of Family Services Association of the Wabash Valley were also at the rally.
“We need to hear about the issue of mental health,” Wilkey said. “We all have mental health. It’s a common element in all of our lives.”
Curran attempted suicide five years ago, he told the audience. It took him more than a year to recover from the attempt and then he began to work to advocate for depression awareness and openness in discussing mental health.
“The purpose of the whole walk is to raise awareness for depression and mental health,” Curran said. Each day, he and his team walk about 20 miles, he said. They plan to leave Terre Haute on Thursday morning and their next rally is scheduled for Monday morning at Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis.
Curran is also urging people to sign an online petition at www.walktowashington.org. The petition, which he will deliver to elected officials in Washington, calls on members of Congress to ensure “equitable and adequate Depression treatment coverage in all public and private health care plans.” It also calls on lawmakers to “support policies that promote individual and family recovery from the disease of Depression” and to commit to “investing in America’s prevention, early intervention, treatment and research related to Depression.”
Curran hopes to collect 1 million signatures, he said.
“We’re not going to change this unless people go to that Web site,” Curran said. “Everybody is touched by this.”
Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.
