ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Veterans and non-veterans alike are walking for a special cause.
It’s the 2nd Annual Anthony Muhlstadt Defender Ruck Walk, a 2.2-mile walk, honoring Marine Sgt. Anthony Muhlstadt and all those lost to suicide.
Sgt. Muhlstadt took his life in November 2021. What followed, his mother Tanya Mort says, was a difficult time. A time that also gave her inspiration.
“We want to create suicide awareness and prevention in our communities," says Mort. "We want people to know that it’s ok not to be ok. We want people to reach out- reach out to your loved ones, reach out to your friends. Identify, be able to engage with them and, hopefully, we can save some lives.”
Standing inside her family home in St. Pete, Mort looks back on old memories of her son.
Memories — engrained in pictures — of happier times.
“About 10 days… before he passed. I went out to see him," she said. "I convinced him to go on a hike with me, which he was like, ‘I can’t believe you want to go on a hike- I do that for a living.’ But he did. He humored me and that was one of the last pictures.”
That inspired Mort and her family to create the annual ruck walk.
“We want people to be able to go up to you and talk about your loved one you may have lost or talk about your struggles," said Mort. "Let’s get you some resources, let’s take you over to this particular booth and see what we can do for you. We want to love on you and we want to make sure that everybody knows that you are not alone. You are not alone.”
Resources for struggling veterans are improving, too. At Bay Pines VA, great strides have been made in helping veterans manage their mental health and other issues.
“It’s all about trying to figure out what that particular veteran needs and matching them with the treatment that they need," said Maria Taylor, Supervisor of Suicide Prevention Program at Bay Pines VA Healthcare System. "Whether it's major depression, (or) they have trauma issues and need to do our PTSD program, maybe there’s substance abuse issues because they’ve been utilizing that to feel better short term to feel better but long term that’s not making them feel not so good. We have all of these programs that can give these wraparound services to help them with their recovery.”
A significant call-to-action, Mort says, that is helping make a difference.
“I want to make sure that no other mother, no other family has to do with losing a child to suicide. That’s the why,” she said.
If you or someone else you know is struggling with mental health, you can find resources online right here.