A man is walking the U.S. corner-to-corner to raise awareness for mental health and addiction recovery.
FLORENCE, Ore. – In a walking testimony, a man is walking coast-to-coast and beyond all for mental health awareness and recovery. On November 29, he made a pit stop in Florence with a grand total of 432 days, 4,061 miles, and more than four years drug-free.
Kyndal Ray Edwards started his journey on January 1, 2022 with his feet in the Atlantic Ocean in Jacksonville, Florida. In 15 months, he crossed the United States to put his feet in the Pacific Ocean in Long Beach, Washington.
After a short break, he got back on his journey at Cape Flattery, Washington, and he’s making his way down the west coast.
“I’m out to let people know that they matter and that we do recover,” Edwards said.
Kyndal Edwards has walked from Florida to the Pacific Northwest and shares his journey along the way.
On November 28, he planted in Florence to share his backstory and his journey all about overcoming addiction and bringing awareness to mental health, something he had to go through prior to his monumental walk.
“I’ve dealt with depression, addiction, and a life of crime,” Edwards said. “I’ve tried to take my life twice, I’ve overdosed numerous times, I’ve been in county jail 11 times, in prison twice; but I’m a firm believer that my past does not define me and that there’s always hope.”
Edwards said he got the inspiration to walk across the country after reading an article while he was in prison about another man who had walked from Tallahassee, Florida to the California coast.
“I fell in love with the story, and I knew that I wanted to do it,” Edwards said.
When it clicked in his brain that he was ready to turn his life around, he was also ready to turn it around on foot. He was determined to make a change for himself, and this was a way to do it, and do it for a cause.
Kyndal Edwards has walked a total of 4,061 miles as of November 29 on his journey to raise awareness for mental health and addiction recovery.
“It’s been a dream of mine just to bring awareness to the fact that people are losing their lives daily to this cause,” Edwards said. “It has been absolutely incredible because I have been so transparent about my recovery and it has brought out the transparency in so many others that have been ashamed or scared to talk about.”
As he shared his message on foot and across social media, a big emphasis is breaking the stigma surrounding mental health and recovery, something recovery counselors like Shannon Curry with Reconnections Counseling said is key when it comes to drug treatment, but is often overlooked.
“Until we deal with your mental health, it doesn’t do us nay good to do treatment on somebody,” Curry said. “I want to thank him for giving of himself out to get out there and do something for somebody else. If everybody was doing things for other people, then we wouldn’t have this deficit of need.”
“There’s this stigma or things that people think it’s so taboo to talk about,” Edwards said. “I want people to know like, hey, mental health and recovery, you don’t have to be ashamed. Your story could inspire others just like mine has.”
The journey is also not just about helping others — it has helped Edwards in more ways than he imagined.
“I wasn’t in it for the way I am now. It was more just walking and enjoying the sights and stuff. I do that now, but now I’m really really focused on trying to take the mental health awareness and recovery to the next level,” Edwards said. “I feel like my positive energy can bring people up and that’s what I’m trying to do.”
In a Walking Testimony, Kyndal Edwards now shares his message along the Oregon Coast.
Edwards said at the end of the day, he has gained a huge following on social media and people coming to meet him in person, all with positive feedback and words of gratitude.
“It seems to work in a lot of cases and I love it,” Edwards said. “The response I get from people driving by me on a daily basis. People honking and waving and just letting me know that they needed to see it. It’s pretty awesome.”
As for his next steps, he will head down to San Diego where he will then turn and head back towards Florida to then walk up the entire east coast, and he continues to share his journey on social media. You can follow him on Facebook.