From coast to coast, a person raised in LaFayette is strolling from California to Florida to lift consciousness about psychological well being. Sylvester Williams is a 27-year-old man who, after going through a collection of trials in his private life, determined to take the message of “psychological well being points” throughout the nation.
Though she was technically raised in Opelika, Williams spoke about spending most of her evenings at her grandmother’s home in Lafayette.
“Day by day after faculty, [my mom] I’d take my grandmother to LaFayette, so I spent numerous time in that space,” he mentioned.
When Williams was simply 17 years outdated, he mentioned he made the error of getting concerned in an armed theft that led to him serving 10 years in jail. Williams mentioned how, when he acquired out of jail, he felt like he had been labeled and written off as an ex-con. Decided to alter his perspective, Williams mentioned he would not let a poor determination he made when he was younger outline him.
“My previous would not outline me, and I like when folks know my story. It permits folks to see the place I am coming from, and now they will see the place I am going,” Williams mentioned.
Whereas in jail, pal of Williams took her personal life after battling extreme despair. In accordance with Williams, she was the kind of one that “was all the time smiling and you’ll by no means have guessed that she was going through despair”.
Decided to assist others going via the identical factor, Williams sought to lift consciousness via one thing that all the time helped his personal way of thinking: going for a stroll.
“As soon as I acquired out of jail, I made a decision I needed to do one thing. I have to do one thing huge as a result of psychological well being is one thing we discuss, however not sufficient actions are accomplished behind it,” he mentioned.
Williams mentioned she was impressed to stroll throughout the nation by the 2020 journey of Huntsville native Terry Willis, who walked from his hometown to Minneapolis in response to police brutality and the homicide of George Floyd.
“Once I was in jail, I noticed what [Willis] I did, and I thought of it so much,” Williams mentioned. “He raised eyebrows at lots of people, so I assumed he may increase some eyebrows by doing one thing comparable.”
Williams started her stroll on Could 1 in Los Angeles, California and has walkedd eight to 11 hours a day. He continually encourages others on social media to by no means hand over and preserve going.
“Psychological well being is such a silent wrestle that lots of people do not perceive,” Williams mentioned. “I wish to inform everybody that it is okay to not be okay, and it doesn’t matter what occurs, bear in mind you are not alone.”
To this point, Williams has walked greater than 1,500 miles and is presently in Pineville, Missouri.
To proceed watching Williams’ journey, you may observe Stroll with Sylvestis on Fb or Tik Tok.
