Firefighter walks across Manitoba to promote mental health awareness

A former Winnipeg firefighter is trekking across Manitoba with a mission: to raise awareness and funds for firefighters struggling with mental health challenges.

Andrew Cherkas, now a firefighter with Canadian Base Operators’ Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARF) department, set out from the Saskatchewan border earlier this week and has already passed through Virden, Oak Lake and Brandon.

Supported at times by colleagues, including Carberry Fire Chief Clyde McCallum and Manitoba Emergency Services College instructor and Carberry Fire captain Mike Sudak, Cherkas is determined to walk all the way to the Ontario border before his holidays end on September 24.

For Cherkas, the walk is deeply personal. He was diagnosed with PTSD in 2021 and has experienced moments of suicidal ideation. His journey is in honour of fellow firefighter Preston Heinbinger, who died by suicide after struggling with PTSD in June 2014.

“I just came up with the idea to try to raise some awareness for the guys and girls suffering in silence,” Cherkas told the Sun on TransCanada highway during the walk on Saturday. “We’re raising money to send firefighters to the British Columbia firefighter resilience treatment program. It costs about $5,300 per firefighter, and so far we’ve raised about $12,300. That’s enough to send two people this year.”

Cherkas explained the initiative is already making a difference, adding the United Firefighters of Winnipeg has increased their sponsorship for Manitoba firefighters from six to eight spots in the program, directly because of the “funds being raised.” Donations go to the Preston Heinbinger Memorial Fund, managed through the Winnipeg Foundation, which hopes to eventually establish a treatment facility in Manitoba.

The walk has also received strong community support. Southport Aerospace Centre, where Cherkas works, kick-started the effort with a $5,000 donation. “That’s enough to send one firefighter on its own,” Cherkas said. “And you send one firefighter, that’s helping dozens of people.”

From Brandon, Cherkas pushed east toward Douglas and plans to cover 40 to 50 kilometres a day. His upcoming route will take him through Austin, McGregor, Portage la Prairie, and then Winnipeg, before heading down to Falcon Lake and finishing at the Ontario border.

For those who joined him on parts of the journey, the cause resonates deeply.

“I’m joining Andrew from Brandon to Carberry because I believe it’s important to share awareness of the mental health of first responders,” Sudak told the Sun on the highway. “These brave men and women are there on people’s worst days. Sometimes what comes with that is witnessing horrific incidents. Firefighters need the tools to talk and get help, not only to live full lives but to stay in a ready mental state for their duty to the community.”

With a quarter of his trek complete, Cherkas says he remains committed to finishing strong — and ensuring his “message continues to spread across Manitoba.”

» aodutola@brandonsun.com

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