Andy Callicum is about to hit the streets of Port Alberni in a gruelling three-day hike to raise money for an upcoming anti-bullying campaign at Alberni District Secondary School.
Beginning on Friday, Sept. 20, through Sunday, Sept. 22, Callicum will walk just short of a marathon each day over a measured urban course in a fundraising campaign called Walk the Talk.
Callicum said he has been alarmed over statistics that show the Alberni Valley has a violent crime rate that is double that of the Cowichan or Comox Valley. But it was a horrifying sexual assault that took place in the Rogers Creek area last May that convinced him of the need to take action.
“I was driving back from Nanaimo one day, just reflecting on some of the news that has come out of our area over the past year,” Callicum said.
Besides the Rogers Creek assault, there was the assault on fisherman Bert McCarthy on River Road, a recent homicide on Fourth Avenue and a frightening episode in which a young man allegedly mowed down three people and crashed into a home on Sixth Avenue.
“It was weighing really heavily on me, and I felt, as a concerned member of the community, there was something I could do about it. And I knew that School District 70 was looking at bringing in an anti-bullying program for the current school year.”
Callicum is the supervisor of the Nuu-chah-nulth Employment & Training Program, but while NETP does have a life skills program, it does not specifically target violence.
In order to combat youth violence, he believes bullying is a logical place to start. By empowering students to become allies rather than bystanders, the cycle of violence can be broken at an early age.
Speaking with SD 70 safety coordinator Peter Klaver, Callicum discovered that the Canadian Red Cross had been contracted to train 12 peer counsellors. His goal now is to raise a total of $6,000, to increase the number of trained peer counsellors from 12 to 36.
That would allow the program to reach out to Ucluelet Secondary School, Vast Alternative School and SD 70 middle schools.
“The way they deliver the program is really powerful, because, instead of getting it from a teacher or another adult, they are getting it from their peers – from people they look up to. These high school kids are going into Grade 6 through Grade 9 classes, delivering the message.”
Callicum recently received permission to contact SD 70 staff for support. One factor that offered a persuasive argument was that many of the victims of violence and many of the perpetrators are SD 70 students or former students who have left the system recently.
“These are all kids that they know.”
Callicum has devised a course for the walk that is just over 13 kilometres. On each of the three days, he will walk the course three times, for an accumulated distance of 118 kilometres by Sept. 22.
Starting at the Steampunk Coffee House, the first leg is to Johnston and Gertrude, then up Johnston to the Alberni Valley Chamber of Commerce visitor centre. From there, the route takes the Redford Extension, across to 10th Avenue and Roger Street, and back to the coffee house.
“Then I take a 45-minute break before heading out for the next lap.”
There are already Walk the Talk collection jars at a number of local businesses, and the Red Cross has set up a Web site, www.redcross.ca/walkthetalk, where you can make your donation online. The Red Cross will provide a charitable tax receipt for donations over $20.
“I’ve practiced the loop every weekend. I’ve been going to the gym up the street and doing as much cardio as possible,” Callicum said.
To support Callicum’s initiative, Asics and Walk the Coast have each donated two pairs of walking shoes, so he is able to alternate footgear between laps.
A number of local elected officials, including Port Alberni Mayor John Douglas and Hupacasath elected Chief Councillor Steven Tatoosh have already committed to joining Callicum for one lap on Sept. 22, and he welcomes members of the public to join in. The Alberni Valley Restorative Justice Board and the Alberni Valley Social Planning Council have already taken up the invitation.
To take part in Walk the Talk, contact Andy Callicum at 250-731-9689.
