This year marked Dr. Ruben Azocar’s 24th run with the Samaritans 5K Run/Walk for Suicide Prevention. Ruben lost his brother Ricardo to suicide in 1997 and began running to process his grief and celebrate his brother’s life.
“The race allows me to take something incredibly difficult and turn it into a time of happiness and remembrance,” he says.
Ruben joined the Samaritans Board of Directors in 2023 and became Vice Chair of the Board in 2024. He has a passion for supporting suicide prevention among health care workers and in the Latinx community, where suicide rates are rising. In his work with Samaritans, Ruben hopes to help create awareness about mental health and suicide prevention in both communities.
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