Community Corner

Meet The Men Biking 7,000 Miles to Prevent Suicide

ACTS Inc. (Action in Community Through Service of Prince William, Inc.) is hosting a talk today at 7 p.m. in Dumfries featuring two cyclists traveling cross-country for Suicide Awareness.

Cyclists Thomas Brown and Zachery Chipps are biking cross country to bring attention to and prevent suicide.

The Arizona residents' incredible 7,000 mile journey began in March at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Now a few weeks before the beginning of Suicide Awareness Month in September, the two are in Northern Virginia, said Vicki Graham, director of the ACTS Inc. Helpline.

ACTS Inc. (Action in community Through Service of Prince William, Inc.) is a not-for-profit organization benefiting the Prince William County, Manassas and Manassas Park purposed to help alleviate human suffering. ACTS has also hosted suicide survivor groups for family members of those who have taken their own lives, Graham said.

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Brown and Chipps reached out to ACTS and asked to stop in during their journey and address the group, she added.

The event is from 7 to 9 p.m. at the ACTs Administrative Building at 3900 ACTS Lane in Dumfries.

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White men over 65 are the group with the highest rate of suicide, Graham said.

Older people deal with lost and loneliness and sometimes lack a support system which can lead to suicide, she said. 

For more information on ACTs and the event visit actspwc.org or call 703-221-1142. For more information about Brown and Chipps visit http://risephoenix.org.

 

 

 

 


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