Step by step, one young nurse is traveling coast to coast to raise awareness of mental illness and suicide.

Ian Cummins, 23, of Pittsburgh, has been on the road since March 1 traveling from Virginia Beach, Va., to San Francisco. He said he plans to finish in mid-September.

Cummins said the journey is not just to raise awareness, but also to honor his brother Ryan Cummins, who was 20 and committed suicide in November. Ryan was a sophomore studying engineering at the University of Pittsburg, diagnosed with bipolar disorder and depression.

“If you would’ve met Ryan, you would’ve never guessed he was struggling with suicidal thoughts,” he said. “He was struggling uncontrollably. At one point he was just, you know, ‘I can’t focus. I can’t seem to look into the future and see anything good.'”

Cummins said he has helped raise almost $10,000 for the National Alliance of Mental Illness of Southwestern Pennsylvania. To make the walk, Cummins put off receiving his bachelor’s degree in nursing and resigned from Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh.

He pushes along 80 pounds of gear, consisting of a tent, sleeping bag, hiking boots, rain gear, food, a camera, enough clothes for three days and many socks, which he change almost every 10 miles. His gear has a solar charger in front to charge his electronics.

“It holds a charge for so long,” he said. “It’ll charge even when the sun isn’t out as long as there’s UV light in the air.”

He had to take a two week break because of an infected blister on his left foot while in Winchester, Ky.

“I had to be put on IV and antibiotics,” he said. “I was hospitalized for a couple days but when it healed up I was back on my way.”

To prepare for the trip, Ian said he frequently ran at the local gym.

“Unless you walk 20 miles a day on average, there’s no way to really prepare walking 20 miles a day on average for six months,” he said. “Everyday is conditioning.”

Cummins has slept outside only once in his two months. He said supporters back home have been calling to find him places to stay.

Jan Eismhard, 58, of Carbondale, who lost a daughter to suicide more than three years ago, opened her home to Cummins Tuesday night.

“I think that he’s very brave to do it,” she said. “It’s a wonderful tribute to his brother.”

While traffic has been a danger and rain a struggle, his largest challenge was day one and saying goodbye to his family, he said.

“Having to stand at the coast and turn my back on my family, that was hard,” he said. “After losing Ryan, [my parents’] only other child after me, seeing me go was hard.”

Cummins said he has met many people while on the road, like a 65-year-old woman who lost her daughter to suicide and walked with him for 10 miles in Henderson, Ky.

“I’ve been pretty inspired on this trip,” he said. “There have been so many wonderful people and so many incredible things that you just come across on your daily travel. So when I get to the Pacific, maybe I’ll be inspired enough to walk back, who knows? But I’m taking a plane [back to Pittsburgh] as of now.”