CINCINNATI — Chaz Walker used to sing about dreams. And for this Cincinnati musician, those dreams eventually came true.
Just not the way he first envisioned.
“I just wish he knew he was loved,” said David Maynard, one of his close friends. “He was so loved.”
Walker, a passionate mental health advocate, died in December after a long battle with kidney disease. He was 63.
“Music is my life,” Walker told me once.
Probably more than once. Definitely more than once.
I first introduced you to Walker more than a year ago, when he spoke openly about living with schizoaffective disorder — and how playing guitar helps him keep the voices in his head at bay.
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For decades, Walker tried to help others living with disorders like his by creating spaces for them to express themselves through an annual talent show and monthly open mic events at a local recovery center.
“He just treated me like a normal person,” Maynard said.
Maynard is standing in the Queen City Clubhouse, next to a pool table where he and Walker used to talk. Maynard tells me he was a mess when he first walked into the basement of this mental health facility. He told me had suicidal ideations, and struggled to fit in. He struggled to find community.
One day, someone heard him singing. That someone was Walker.
And if you know Walker, what happened next won’t surprise you. He asked Maynard to sing in his talent show. Maynard had never done anything like that before. But for the last several years, he did.
“I loved it,” Maynard said.
And he loved watching Walker perform.
“I wanted to be like Chaz,” Maynard said. “I wanted to play guitar like him. And I wanted to carry myself like him.”
Provided
Chaz Walker died in December after a long battle with kidney disease. Walker was a passionate advocate for people living with mental illness.
While he reminisces, the sound of a drill fills the basement. As others prepare for Walker’s memorial service, more than one person talks about how he used to play the guitar with his teeth.
“Chaz was definitely very outgoing and very passionate,” said Hallie Foy, a staff member at the clubhouse. “Our goal is to take that passion he gave us and continue that.”
That’s why his family is asking for donations. Not for funeral expenses, but to continue Walker’s talent show.
And keep his mission alive.
Want to help?
The family says donations can be made to the Recovery Center of Hamilton County in Walker’s name. If you’re interested, you can click on this link.