Local woman participates in 62 mile run/walk

Kristen Nielson, Maryville, has accepted the challenge to run/walk 62 miles for raising awareness and funds to Stop Soldier Suicide

“It’s a little different than an event. It’s kind of like an at your own pace; 62 miles for the month,” said Nielson. “So (I’m) halfway through now.

“Their mission is to decrease soldier suicide, specifically to reduce the military suicide rate by 40 percent no later than 2030.”

Nielson is presently changing job roles in her healthcare career from an inpatient mental health nurse to starting as a provider at Mosaic Medical Center – Maryville in the outpatient behavioral health as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner.

“I have a passion for mental health and this fits right into that. Soldier suicide is significantly higher than the average population and I support their mission to help decrease that and support our military and veterans,” said Nielson

Stop Soldier Suicide is headquartered out of Durham, NC. It’s mission is to drive veteran suicide rates down to civilian parity by 2030. They plan to accomplish this mission through strategic partnership, industry-leading suicide assessment tools and a disruptive high-touch, high-frequency case management model that is the first of its kind in the veteran services field.

Individuals can donate through Nielson’s fundraiser page on Facebook or even through the organization directly.