Detroit moves with purpose when our steps carry weight. MiSide Community Impact Network is once again turning motion into meaning, launching its annual “Mind Over Miles” Mental Health Awareness Walk for Mental Health Awareness Month. This isn’t just a call to lace up your sneakers. This is about walking toward healing, one mile at a time—for yourself, your community, your people.
This month-long virtual movement challenges participants to commit to 25 miles and raise $100, symbolically standing for the 25,000 individuals MiSide supports each year through its mental health programs. The effort stretches far beyond numbers. It’s about affirming that mental wellness deserves room at the front of the line when we talk about community care in Detroit and across Wayne County.
Sean de Four, president and CEO of MiSide, grounded this year’s message with intention. “Mind Over Miles is more than a fundraiser – it’s a movement to break the stigma around mental health,” he said. “Every step taken and every dollar raised brings us closer to a community where everyone has access to the care they need.”
MiSide is known not just for what it provides—but how. That means meeting people exactly where they are. For Alicia, that meeting point came after a long road of hurt, survival, and recovery. Her story is a reminder that behind every statistic is a heartbeat trying to reclaim its rhythm.
Alicia grew up carrying pain that most wouldn’t speak aloud. Childhood abuse left marks that followed her into her teens. By the age of 12, she had already survived a suicide attempt. Life didn’t soften after that. When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted everything in March 2020, her mental health spiraled further. Two attempts at rehabilitation didn’t bring the support she needed. Then she found MiSide.
What followed wasn’t magic. It was therapy. It was trust. It was MiSide’s commitment to treating the whole person. That included Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, access to physical health care, a peer recovery coach who had walked similar roads, and job support to build stability. Alicia’s voice is steady but honest. “I was really broken, and I still have a lot of work to do,” she said. “But MiSide gave me the tools and support to start healing and helping others.”
Her testimony is a mirror held up to Detroit. Too often, our communities carry pain in silence. Black folks know what it means to be strong because they’ve had no choice. But strength doesn’t mean suppressing struggle. That’s why this walk matters.
Participants can sign up and track progress online at charity.pledgeit.org/MOM. It’s simple—25 miles and a goal of raising $100. But there’s power in that simplicity. One person becomes four. Four people walking becomes 100 miles. Four people giving becomes $400 toward real, tangible mental health services. The impact doesn’t end with the walk. It begins there.
MiSide understands that advocacy isn’t reserved for statehouses or boardrooms. Advocacy lives in neighborhoods, on front porches, at church fellowship halls, in barbershops, and over text threads checking on friends who’ve been too quiet. “Mind Over Miles” makes advocacy mobile. It turns sidewalks into statements and fitness apps into collective action.
For those needing a little extra motivation, there’s also a grand prize. Anyone hitting fundraising milestones gets entered to win a seven-night stay at Villa Paradiso in Bali. The luxury villa hosts eight guests and offers a breath of peace to those who give deeply to the cause. It’s a soft reward for a hard truth: healing takes work. But community can lighten the load.
Mental health awareness isn’t a trending topic—it’s a generational necessity. Too many Black Detroiters have been conditioned to cope quietly. Generational trauma is not folklore—it’s fact. But healing is possible when we talk, when we walk, and when we resource each other with care, not just concern.
MiSide’s work fills a void that public systems often ignore. Access to mental health shouldn’t depend on income, status, or who you know. For Black folks navigating housing insecurity, systemic racism, recovery from substance use, or the isolation of surviving yet another loss, support must be consistent and compassionate. That’s what MiSide offers.
Detroit has a legacy of marching for justice. Whether it’s civil rights, voting rights, or labor rights—when we move together, we make noise. This walk builds on that tradition. The destination isn’t a finish line. It’s a future where our people can heal in peace and without shame.
Every dollar raised during “Mind Over Miles” goes directly toward mental health programs that reach across zip codes, age groups, and identities. Whether someone’s journey begins at MiSide’s clinic or through a referral from a friend, each person gets a chance to reclaim their voice.
Mental health doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all solution, and MiSide respects that truth. The organization offers layered support—evidence-based treatment mixed with culturally competent care, all rooted in the belief that healing is not only necessary but deserved.
Detroit has always been a city of resilience, but resilience should not be survival’s only gear. Joy, rest, and emotional wellness should be part of our daily lives—not rare exceptions. Walking with MiSide is a way to affirm that.
To walk with MiSide is to walk with purpose. To walk for mental health is to honor those who’ve lost battles no one saw. To walk with Alicia is to believe in recovery. To walk for Detroit is to demand that our healing becomes a priority.
Registration is open now at charity.pledgeit.org/MOM. Lace up. Call a friend. Make your movement mean something.
