When Greg McPherson sets out from Carleton Place on July 18, he won’t simply be tackling another long-distance walk.
The founder of On The Road 4 Mental Health will be carrying the memory of his son, Aric, and thousands of other Canadians lost to the toxic drug and mental health crisis.
McPherson will lead one of 10 “Steps to Remember” walks planned across Ontario this year. The Carleton Place leg will take participants from Carleton Place to Arnprior, a distance of approximately 44 kilometres. Each step along the route represents the roughly 44,000 lives lost during the first recognized 10 years of Canada’s opioid crisis, with every kilometre serving as a reminder that behind every statistic was a person, a family and a story.
For McPherson, the story is deeply personal.
Aric struggled with mental health and substance-use challenges for years before his death in 2019. Like many families affected by addiction, the McPhersons watched someone they loved battle an illness that is often misunderstood and heavily stigmatized.
“Nobody chooses addiction, it chooses them,” McPherson said during a recent interview. “It may have come from a choice at one point in their life, but it grabbed hold of them, and here they are.”
One of the most meaningful moments in Aric’s journey came in 2022 when he visited Niagara Falls and posted a photo of himself with the American Falls in the background. In the post, he wrote that just two weeks earlier he had woken up with an oxygen mask on and had later regained consciousness twice in ditches. Yet that day, he said, was the first time in a long time that he felt hope.
That message has stayed with McPherson.
“It’s a place of hope,” he said of the location where several of his walks have begun.
Despite his own struggles, Aric never stopped helping others. At his celebration of life, family members were approached by people who credited him with saving them during their darkest moments.
“Even though he couldn’t save himself, he saved other people,” McPherson said. “If it wasn’t for Aric, they wouldn’t be alive.”
Determined to continue that legacy, McPherson transformed his grief into action.
The walks began during the COVID-19 pandemic when isolation and loss became overwhelming. One day, he asked his wife to drive him across Ottawa so he could walk home. The 27-kilometre trek gave him time to process his grief, think about his son and focus on the good that still existed in the world.
What started as a personal coping mechanism soon became a public movement.
When his younger son, Aaron, suggested joining him on a walk, McPherson decided to turn the outing into a fundraiser. In just six weeks, they raised more than $11,000 for Ottawa’s Youth Services Bureau through Facebook and community support.
Since then, On The Road 4 Mental Health has grown into a provincewide awareness campaign. According to the organization’s website, the initiative has raised more than $250,000 for mental health, addiction and community support organizations since its inception while encouraging conversations about mental health, substance use and harm reduction. The organization has supported a wide range of charities and front-line agencies working with vulnerable populations.
McPherson said one of the goals is helping people understand that addiction and mental illness do not discriminate.
“These are your neighbours, they’re friends, family,” he said. “There’s nobody who’s not been touched.”
Carleton Place founder and business advisor Nav Gill understands that reality firsthand.
Gill became involved as the local sponsor after connecting with McPherson through martial arts training. His own life has not been without challenges, and he understands the impact adversity can have on individuals and those around them. Through discipline, perseverance and a commitment to taking responsibility for his future, he was able to build a new path forward. Today, he is the founder and owner of The Inked Ledger Inc.
“It was impossible not to be inspired by someone who has turned personal tragedy into a mission of hope and support for others,” said Gill.
After speaking with McPherson, Gill began supporting the initiative through his work and community connections, and more recently as a financial sponsor. Today, he sees the July 18 walk as an opportunity to bring people together around an issue that affects virtually every family in some way.
For McPherson, the message remains simple.
“Not understanding something doesn’t mean you can’t have compassion,” he said. “Just simple humanity.”
The Carleton Place-to-Arnprior walk begins July 18, and residents are invited to participate in all or part of the route. Information about participation, donations and route details is available through the On The Road 4 Mental Health website.
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