Some 660 American flags were placed along 700 Corkery Lane in Williamstown on Oct. 12 to represent how many veterans die from suicide each month.
John DeMarco from Knights of Columbus Villa Marie Council No. 6342 helped organize the event for the second time, calling it The Flags for Forgotten Soldiers. Gloucester County Commissioner Jim Jefferson and Mayor Greg Wolfe were on hand to place some of those flags, meant to raise awareness of suicide among vets.
The Veteran Crisis Hotline is a free, confidential resource that connects a veteran or loved one to a real person trained to support veterans, according to its website. Launched in 2007, it has grown from 14 trained responders to more than 500 in three call centers. As of July, there were 287,000 calls dispatched to emergency services.
For more information,visit veteranscrisisline.net. The hotline can be reached by typing 988 and pressing 1, at (800) 273-8255, press 1, or by texting 838255.
