Joe Hall of Ohio-based nonprofit Hall Across America stands outside the Indiana Capitol in Indianapolis, his first state capital stop on a walk across the country to raise awareness of the mental health crisis and suicide prevention.
Photo provided
A man walking across America and visiting state capitals to raise awareness of the mental health crisis and suicide prevention passed through Columbus and North Vernon recently.
Joe Hall, an Ohio resident and founder of nonprofit Hall Across the Country, was in Indianapolis recently, and afterward he walked several miles daily, making visits to Greenfield, Franklin, Edinburgh and Columbus.
Hall said on social media that he was treated for blisters on his feet at Columbus Regional Hospital and spent the Saturday night of Memorial Day weekend at Columbus Fire Department Station 4 on 25th Street. He remained in Columbus on Tuesday before planning to venture south toward North Vernon en route to his next state capital, Frankfort, Ky.
This is the second cross-country walk Hall has embarked upon. In May 2022, he began a walk in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, that he completed in November of that year in San Francisco.
Hall says he was inspired to take up the cause after a friend’s son died from suicide. This second walk aims to engage leaders in the 48 state capitals of the contiguous United States. Beginning from his home in Fairborn, Ohio, Hall’s walk to Indianapolis marked his first state capital visit, as he posted on Facebook, “One down. 47 to go.”
Hall said his walk with also raise funds for NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
