Dustin Sieker/ Photo from Belinda Sieker on Facebook

By Courtney Almeida

charity

Talk to Me Colour Walk/Run to be held in honour of Dustin Sieker

Apr 21, 2019 | 7:00 AM

The first annual Talk to Me Colour Walk/Run is set to take place May 4 at the Wapiti Nordic Ski Trails for an 11 a.m. start. The event in support of PTSD awareness was organized by Belinda Sieker, in commemoration of her son, Dustin.

Dustin Sieker was a first responder in the Grande Prairie community for over 15 years. He worked as a Supervisor for Alberta Health Services.

In May of 2018, Belinda lost her son to suicide, stemming from post-traumatic stress disorder.

“When this happened to Dustin, the shock was that I never saw it coming. He never talked a whole lot about what he’d been going through or how he felt. You know, he would have bad days, but I guess everybody really does, so I and the rest of us just never put two and two together, so when this happened to him, we were blindsided,” says Sieker.

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Sieker believes more needs to be done to support first responders who may be struggling, much like her own son was.

“After this happened with Dustin, I just sat down and I started thinking about what first responders have to deal with every single day, like what they see. You know, what they hear, what they feel. They’re human beings and their struggling with dealing with this and coping with it because we look at them as the front line and the strong ones, which in turn they are still human beings.”

A scholarship has been established in Dustin’s name through the Community Foundation of Northwestern Alberta to help train new paramedics.

To help raise funds for the new scholarship, Sieker has decided to host this event, which is a 5K Fun Run and Barbeque.

However, Seiker says this event is not just your average charity walk.

“They’re going to be getting a white t-shirt and throughout the race, they’re going to be getting sprayed with coloured chalk and it’s going to be going all over their shirts,” explains Sieker.

As runners make their way along the trail, they are expected to gather ribbons.

“The way to get one is to be able to talk to someone and that person will give them a ribbon. At the end, we will add them up for whoever’s got the most ribbons and there is a prize for that.”

Sieker got the idea to host this one-of-a-kind event from Dustin’s own personal enjoyment of the “Colour Me Rad Run” in Edmonton.

“He absolutely loved it. He would show me the pictures and how much fun it was, and I thought: You know what? That’s the way we’re going to go with it. This is what we’re always going to do.”

In addition, the event will also feature a BBQ and silent auction. A photo booth will also be setup on-site for event goers to capture memories of the day.

After experiencing the tragic loss of her son, Belinda has made the decision to dedicate herself to working to increase the awareness of mental illness and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“I needed to do this. I really needed to bring more awareness and I will do this for as long as I can. My goal is for this not to happen to anybody else. No other family should have to go through what we have gone through. If we can even help just one person, that would be awesome,” says Sieker.

Proceeds from the event go towards Dustin’s foundation but a portion of proceeds will also be going towards local mental health initiatives.

Tickets for the Talk to Me Colour Walk/Run are available for purchase here.

If you or somebody you know is struggling to cope with mental health or PTSD, resources can be found on the Alberta Health Services website or by calling a 24-hour toll free help line at 1-877-303-2642.