CONTACT Care Line to bring new film ‘The Listeners’ to Oak Ridge

 

Special one-time screening of a new documentary about suicide hotline volunteers; screening requires 80  tickets to be sold by Thursday, April 27

CONTACT Care Line will be hosting a one-time screening of “The Listeners” in Oak Ridge on Thursday, May 4.

“The Listeners” follows a cadre of new volunteer trainees in crisis and suicide prevention as they learn to answer suicide hotlines, a press release said.

“Through their eyes—and more importantly, their ears—the film examines mental health and suicide prevention strategies, volunteerism, and the life-saving power of empathy,” the press release said.

The event includes a brief introduction to the work of CONTACT Care Line and concludes with a 15-minute opportunity for questions.

The film is being screened through Tugg.com, a platform that helps organizations to host screenings in their local theaters. Tickets can be purchased at www.tugg.com/events/the-listeners-xxbt.

The screening is at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 4, at Cinemark Tinseltown USA at 755 W Main Street in Oak Ridge.

“I’m excited that we can bring our very own ‘The Listeners’ screening to Oak Ridge and we need your support,” said Bruce Marshall, CONTACT executive director. “We need to sell 80 tickets before the deadline on April 27 to make this screening happen!”

Since this is a “crowd-funded event,” Marshall wanted to remind the audience “the event will only happen if enough tickets are reserved before the deadline (April 27). And, “your credit card will not be charged until we’ve sold the required 80 tickets.”

Director and Producer Bob Hurst said that making the film was a challenging and inspiring experience.

“People tend to think that crisis counseling is not real health care,” he said. “But research shows it works. Most suicides are impulsive.”

Hurst said he got to know many of the volunteers during filming. He filmed about 150 hours of footage on all aspects of the training process, the press release said.

“They don’t just want to help, they are committed to being as effective as possible,” Hurst said. “They give me a lot of hope for the future.”

More information will be added as it becomes available.

This press release was submitted by Bruce Marshall.

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