St. Cloud senior veterans walk toward wellness

Walk With Ease brings veterans together to build community and strengthen body, mind and spirit.

Nearly 295,000 military service veterans live in Minnesota, and over half of them are over age 65. Senior veterans encounter the same challenges as aging civilians, such as declining mobility, chronic health conditions and social isolation. But they also face unique hardships: veterans are at higher risk for depression, anxiety, PTSD and substance abuse, due to the stress incurred during active duty and deployments.

Anita Harris Hering, University of Minnesota Extension family resiliency educator based in St. Cloud, grew up in a military family and collaborates with several veterans organizations. She recognized an opportunity to give back to those who have served and sacrificed for our country by partnering with the Minnesota Department of Health to offer a veteran-led walking program.

Originally designed by the Arthritis Foundation, Walk With Ease is a six-week class that helps people reintroduce walking into their routine, gain confidence and increase strength. Participants meet in person to talk, learn, stretch and walk outdoors under the guidance of a trained facilitator. 

For this class, it was essential that the facilitators were veterans, too. When Extension staff reached out to Jason Wehry and Kerri Risberg, they answered the call to get trained in the curriculum and become peer leaders. 

Wehry served in the Army and National Guard as an infantryman and drone operator, deploying to support operations in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. He works as the central regional coordinator for veterans education at the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs and got connected to Extension through the Beyond The Yellow Ribbon - Central MN Warrior to Citizen Initiative. 

Wehry was motivated to join Walk With Ease because “As a veteran myself I know how important it is to have people you can talk to about similar experiences,” he says. “I enjoy working with veterans because it helps me as well. I am able to spend time with people from different backgrounds and learn about their past. Many veterans feel like they are alone so having a group makes a huge impact.”

Kerri Risberg served in the Army as a medic before joining the Minnesota National Air Guard and deploying during Operation Desert Storm. Now she is earning her master’s degree in student counseling at St. Cloud State University, where she is a member of the school’s veteran group. 

“Walk With Ease is a great way to get people more active at their own pace,” Risberg says. “We need more spaces like this because lots of veterans, especially older ones, don’t feel comfortable talking about their issues with civilians because they just don’t get it.”

In the military, service members get used to exercising with other people and having a community around them. But, according to Risberg, “When you’re older, there’s also a big fear of falling down or getting hurt while alone outside, and that can really keep people from staying active.”

Her first walking group started in September and consists of 10 participants who are 55+ and come from all branches of the military. 

While Minnesota weather necessitates moving class indoors for the winter, Risberg is already planning for her next outdoor class in the spring. “I think a lot of them will come back because they are enjoying it, and of course, we’d like to get new people walking, too.”