From the Southernmost Point, former Marine Ron Zaleski began the trek up the Florida Keys on Sept. 11. A billboard wrapped his body with the name of service members who died from suicide. Zaleski wrote a new name each day he walked in the Keys.
“They died in combat as far as I’m concerned,” Zaleski told Keys Weekly as he prepared for a 2,700-mile walk that will take him beyond the Keys to San Diego, California. He’s the founder of the Long Walk Home, a nonprofit dedicated to helping veterans find a new mission in life all while preventing them from taking their lives.
With 22 veterans dying from suicide per day, Zaleski’s trip across the country aims to highlight suicide prevention. Over the next 10 months, he will walk to share resources and encourage service members to sign up for suicide prevention programs.
“It saves lives,” Zaleski said. “I don’t help anybody, I just inspire change and help guide them if they let me in their life.”
Zaleski began the treks in the morning to get a beat on the intense heat. He walked roughly 12 miles a day, reaching Islamorada on Sept. 20 for a presentation at Coral Isles Church. Reverend Bruce Havens welcomed the community and his congregation to the event where Zaleski spoke passionately about his journey, self-discovery and his mission to help others. Havens and several others also walked with Zaleski, who displayed a sign bearing the name of yet another veteran who died from suicide
This isn’t Zaleski’s first epic walk. In 2006, when he sold his businesses and founded the Long Walk Home, Zaleski walked barefoot across the Appalachian Trail, traversing 2,200 miles of woods and wildlife. He was met by many curious trailblazers who were eager to hear his story. Many of them were on their own journey of self-discovery. Others were veterans or had veterans in their family and could relate to Zaleski’s experience.
In 2010, he upped the stakes and walked barefoot from Concord, Massachusetts to Santa Monica, California. He traversed more than 3,400 miles without shoes, carrying a sign that read “18 Vets a Day Commit Suicide” and a petition for military personnel to receive mandatory counseling. In 2011 he brought that same petition, which had at that point accumulated over 20,000 signatures, to Washington, D.C.
“Alone, I can do something. But together we can do much more,” Zaleski said.
For more information, visit thelongwalkhome.org. People can follow Zaleski’s journey on Facebook by searching the Long Walk Home.
