Quincy, MA–Over 600 runners and walkers competed in the 48th Annual Stop the Stigma 5K road race, which was held April 30 at the Kennedy Center in N. Quincy.

“Stop the Stigma” 5K road race was organized by Interfaith Social Services to challenge stereotypes and eliminate the stigma of mental illness and addiction.

Quirk Auto Dealers was one of the main sponsors of this event and is fully committed to supporting Interfaith’s efforts to eliminate the stigma and also encourage treatment for those affected.

“Proceeds from the Stop the Stigma 5K help offset the cost of thousands of mental health counseling sessions each”, said event organizer, Paula Daniels, Director of Development, for Interfaith Social Services.

The organization is working hard to make counseling easily available to those seeking help. “To further break down barriers to receiving treatment, new clients to the New Directions Counseling Center receive their first four sessions free of charge. We want clients to focus on their health first,” said Interfaith’s Executive Director, Rick Doane.

Doan said many potential clients do not seek the treatment they need because they think that they will not qualify for the sliding-fee scale or are embarrassed to admit that they cannot afford it. “By providing these free sessions we allow them to focus on getting treatment first.”, said Doane.

To learn more, visit: https://interfaithsocialservices.org/more-ways-to-help/.