Hailing from the far west, of Kamloops, British Colombia, Marlene Hibbs is cycling across the nation to bring awareness to Mental Health. She looks to advocate for more open discussion, attention, as well as better funding and services for the widely overlooked issue.

Hibbs, who was in Moose Jaw on Wednesday, explained the reasoning behind her push towards more open mental health care.

"To recognize that people who have mental health and trauma and illness should have access to the same liberties as someone who has a physical illness, or metabolic illness.

If I had cancer or a broken leg, can you imagine having to stand in at a hospital and demand care? I've done that, many people have, and no, we wouldn't imagine that."

As someone who has experienced living with an eating disorder, Hibbs attested to the need for people to see a physician and report their condition.

"Eating disorders have the highest rate of psychiatric death, one out of three people (with the illness) will die from it, and there are 16 types. It's estimated that one in four people have one, but because people don't report, the stats are incomplete, and because the stats are incomplete, there isn't research to generate funding. So people need to report, or else your illness isn't real and it doesn't exist."

Hibbs plans on lobbying through Saskatchewan for the next few weeks, speaking with local Politicians on the issue. Thereafter, she plans to cycle through Manitoba, and to do it in one go. She explained just exactly why.

"It will take me 27-40 hours, and in that time, I'm encouraging people to go and access the mental health services that are there, and push back into the systems that have been pushing into us. Go take your power back. You need to report what you're experiencing in your body or it's not real, and when you lose that power, you lose the choice."