Rain ‘perfect’ for Walk to Remember

KEWAUNEE – A student-led initiative, Kewaunee High School’s second annual “Step Up for Mental Health: A Walk to Remember,” took place on a rainy Saturday last month at Bruemmer Park.

When asked to speak a couple months prior, Sheriff Matt Joski said he wasn’t sure what he was going to say.
“And then as we got closer and closer, and we got the weather forecast, the good Lord actually provided me the motivation and inspiration for why we’re here,” Joski said, addressing the 100 or so who braved the wet conditions.

“This would have been so easy if it was like 10 degrees warmer, sunny skies,” Joski said. “That’s not why we’re here. This rain is perfect. This weather is perfect for this event. Because we do not support each other just when it is easy, when it works for us, when it’s convenient. We have to be there for each other during those dark storms, when it’s inconvenient, and when it’s painful. That’s what it’s about. Supporting each other through everything.”

Joski said normalizing the conversation surrounding the mental health crisis is critical.

“We need to make it ok to be vulnerable,” Joski said. “That’s hard to say in front of a group of men. But we need to be ok letting others know that we’re not ok. Empathy is huge. Empathy and compassion.”

We shouldn’t just listen with the intent to respond, he said.

“Many times we’re just looking for an ear,” said Joski. “We’re just looking for that empathy, a moment. And when that moment chooses you — and it will choose you — we need to make sure that we’re able to clear everything out of our busy schedule and say, ‘the moment has chosen me. That person needs me here and now.’”

If someone chooses you in the moment to share their pain and struggle, Joski said you stay in that moment.

Teachers and bosses will understand if you’re late.

“We need to slow it down, and be there for each other,” Joski said. “We need to have deeper conversations.”
Joski talked briefly about resiliency, then backtracked to gratitude.

“We need to be grateful for this rain,” he said. “I’m grateful to be soaking wet right now. I’m grateful to be here among you regardless of conditions. When we can find a place for gratitude regardless of the circumstances, that’s a superpower. That’s what’s going to get you through. And when you share that gratitude with others, it lights their candle, lights their hope.”

Joski ended by thanking the students who organized the event, which featured a run/walk route with memorial and hope signs, a personal photo display board, on-site mental health resources, and a post-race picnic with food and refreshments.

“It’s remarkable that they have the awareness to focus on this issue and take time out of their busy lives to bring us together as adults,” he said. “The future is bright. People talk a lot about where this country is going, where our world is going — I’m confident. I’m confident in the young men and women that we have before us that have that mindfulness to be aware of the things around them. We’re in good hands.”