CRISIS HOTLINE CARING CONTACT TO HOLD ANNUAL ALIVE & RUNNING 5K JUNE 11 TO HELP SAVE LIVES

Are you alive and running? You can help others stay alive by joining the “Alive & Running” Caring Contact 5K Walk/Run being held Saturday, June 11th, at Warinanco Park in Roselle. Registration is at 8:30 a.m. and the race/walk begins at 9:30 a.m. The cost of participation is $25, $15 for students. All money raised will go toward funding the operation of Caring Contact’s listening line, including keeping more than 200 trained volunteer listeners available for callers in crisis. The hotline takes more than 15,000 calls each year. Just $15 pays for one of those calls from someone in pain or crisis or having suicidal thoughts.
Caring Contact is an award-winning, volunteer-staffed caring and crisis hotline and listening community, providing active listening support and best-in-class training to the Central and Northern New Jersey community. The suicide rate in the United States has been increasing every year since 1999, rising more than 24 percent between 1999 and 2014. Every 13.7 minutes someone in the United States dies by suicide and more than 42,000 people died by suicide in 2013, including 4,600 young people.
“Studies show a decrease in feelings of emotional distress and suicide both during and following calls to a crisis hotline,” said Joanne Oppelt, Caring Contact’s executive director. “The most effective solution for preventing suicide is interaction with another human being.” To register visit http://caringcontact.org/aliveand- running-5k-run-walk/ Caring Contact serves Central and Northern New Jersey and is a primary responder to calls to the national suicide prevention line (1-800-273- TALK or 1-800-SUICIDE) that originate in New Jersey. Callers also reach Caring Contact by dialing 908-232-2880. Those preferring to seek supporting through texting may text “heart” to 741-741. The hotline also provides best-in-class training to the Central and Northern New Jersey Community.