Samaritans: You are Not Alone Documentary Produced by Keep Sound Minds Released

Mental health organizations come together to raise awareness about vital suicide prevention services
 
BOSTON - Aug. 26, 2015 - PRLog -- (Boston, MA) – After months of filming, a documentary titled “Samaritans: You are Not Alone” will be publically released on September 9th. The film focuses on the lifesaving suicide prevention work by the local organization, Samaritans, Inc., and was produced in conjunction with the New Hampshire-based mental health nonprofit, Keep Sound Minds (KSM) and the Honce Oui Media Group. KSM also provided the funding to make this film possible.

The documentary features many who have been touched by Samaritans’ services, from attempt survivors, those who have lost a loved one to suicide, and Samaritans’ volunteers. Watching it, even Samaritans’ staff members were moved to tears.

In the documentary, you hear from Kelly Nguyen recall “I attempted to take my own life. It is really hard to make that first call … Samaritans’ truly saved my life.” You also hear from volunteers who are on the other side of calls from people like Kelly. “I’ve had calls before where a person is really struggling … and they need someone to hear that. You make a real connection, and their gratitude is really lovely” says Eli, an 18-year-old teen volunteer, known as a Samariteen.

Ken Lambert, Executive Director of KSM, and Steve Mongeau, Executive Director of Samaritans, Inc. are both survivors of suicide, meaning they have lost a loved one to suicide. Every year, there are more than 4 million new survivors in the United States. Ken and Steve are both featured in the video along with many other survivors who use Samaritans’ Grief Support Services.

For Samaritans, the initial proposal of a documentary funded by an outside organization seemed almost too good to be true. “Barely stepping in to my role as Executive Director, I could hardly believe it when Ken, President and Co-Founder of KSM, at that time a perfect stranger, came to me with this exciting and generous proposal. I could think of so many ways a documentary could be useful to Samaritans, but we never would have been able to fund and take on a project like this ourselves. As the project evolved, we were also amazed at the passion and commitment from Randy Barth, Founder and CEO at Honce Oui Media Group. This is truly a project from the heart!”

“The goals of KSM are to Empathize, Educate, Encourage, and Inspire- all within the realm of mental health. I feel this film embodies all four. It spotlights the important work that Samaritans does on a daily basis, but for the average person just watching it- will accomplish much more than that,” notes Ken Lambert. “Everyone at Keep Sound Minds is extremely proud of the efforts involved in this and how it came out in the end.”

Though a serious topic, Samaritans’ Chief Program Officer, Ron White, wants to make sure the audience know “this really is a place of hope” and that there are things people can do to prevent suicide or move forward from depression or mental illness. With this documentary, KSM and Samaritans’ hope to raise awareness about the many programs that could save lives.

More about Samaritans

Twitter: @SamaritansHope

Facebook: Samaritans, Inc.

For over 40 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, please visit www.samaritanshope.org, contact Samaritans’ business office at 617-536-2460 or info@samaritanshope.org.

Samaritans Statewide Toll Free Helpline: 877-870-HOPE (4673)

More about KSM


Keep Sounds Minds was formed in early 2008 after the tragic and untimely deaths of three loved ones. Founders Danielle and Ken Lambert have had one main mission: to try to prevent a similar tragedy from occurring within other families. KSM has helped many people throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire via several programs, projects, outreach, partnerships, and public speaking engagements.

For more information on KSM, please visit www.keepsoundminds.org, or call 978-662-9902.

Contact
Steve Mongeau
***@samaritanshope.org
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Tags:Documentary, Suicide Prevention, Education
Industry:Non-profit
Location:Boston - Massachusetts - United States
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