Samaritans Run Boston Marathon To Help Save Lives

(Boston, MA) – Davia Moore, resident of Beverly, MA, will run in the 120th Boston Marathon on Monday, April 18, 2016 for the second time. By running, Davia will help Samaritans raise needed funds to support suicide prevention programs.

Davia is one of fourteen running for the Samaritans Marathon Team. She will be running in celebration of her own personal recovery as well as in memory of three people in her community who died by suicide within 18 months.

“I gave up running four years ago when I faced depression that I brought me very close to ending my own life.” says Moore. “With the help and support of friends and family, I sought more help and navigated the maze of inpatient, outpatient, and follow-up services. I took back my life and now my loved ones see me as a rock, a person who is not unfamiliar with, nor afraid of darkness in me and others. I love how much running can be a metaphor for life and for the struggle of mental illness. The Boston Marathon especially is, because you get so much power from the people watching you and the people running alongside you, but in the end, only you can do the work- no one can run it for you.”

Each year John Hancock donates guaranteed entries to select nonprofits, which use these entries to recruit individual runners to raise money for their cause. Last year, John Hancock nonprofit runners raised more than $10 million for over 140 different local organizations. For over 30 years John Hancock has been the principal sponsor of the Boston Marathon®. The Company’s continued support of the Boston Athletic Association, which has directed the race since 1897, ensures that the race will continue to be a world‐class event and an important facet of Boston’s culture and heritage.

This is the ninth consecutive year that Samaritans, a suicide prevention organization serving the Greater Boston and Metro West communities has received bib numbers for their Marathon Team. The donation was made to help Samaritans generate awareness about the issue of suicide, educate the public about suicide prevention, and raise much-needed funds.

”I chose to run the Boston Marathon because I don’t think I can do it. But that is the beauty of it. When I spent my first night in the psychiatric hospital, I didn’t think I could ever get well enough to stay out of the hospital, but I took that night one minute at a time. When I was released, I didn’t think I could get better, but I took it one day at a time and got through lots of everyday hardships that once would have ended me. I was doubtful of my ability to reclaim running, but I can take it one mile at a time and see it as just another thing I will not let mental illness take away from me.” continues Moore.

“We are so grateful to have received marathon numbers through John Hancock,” said Steve Mongeau, Executive Director of Samaritans. “The stigma and misinformation that surrounds the discussion of suicide and suicide prevention is an unfortunate reality. By educating the public about this important issue while raising funds to support Samaritans’ programs, our marathon runners are performing a tremendous service to our organization and the community at large. They are helping to save lives.”

In addition to Moore, thirteen other runners have joined Samaritans Team through the John Hancock Marathon Program and the Boston Athletic Association: Andrea Mendes (Andover, MA), David Thompson (Eden Prairie, MN), David Johnson (Milton, MA), Jeffrey Price (Cambridge, MA), Jena Roma (Peabody, MA), Kim Gagnon (Norwell, MA), Kristina Conroy (Boston, MA), Michael DuBose (The Woodlands, TX), Michael Monestime (Cambridge, MA), Ramon Neves (Roslindale, MA), Sathya Silva (Cambridge, MA), Steven Yearwood (Los Angeles, CA), Veronica Reichardt (Worcester, MA),

To learn more or make a donation towards Davia’s goal of $7,000, visit https://www.crowdrise.com/SamaritansBoston2016/fundraiser/daviamoore

More about Samaritans

Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest: @SamaritansHope
Facebook: Samaritans, Inc.

Over the past 42 years, Samaritans, Inc. volunteers have answered more than 2.5 million phone calls. The agency has trained more than 4,500 volunteers and instructed more than 100,000 individuals through its Community Education and Outreach Program and has supported over 10,000 individuals who have lost a loved one to suicide.

For more information on Samaritans visit www.samaritanshope.org or call the business office at 617-536-2460.

Samaritans Statewide Toll Free Helpline: 877-870-HOPE (4673), call or text 24/7 for free, confidential emotional support.