1st Annual 'Walking In My Boots' Walkathon in Union County

The weekend following Memorial Day, Moving New Jersey Forward and Vet 4U are hosting the first annual “Walking in my Boots” walkathon at Warinanco Park to benefit veterans with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) later this month.

The 5K walk leads up to the month of June, which has been designated PTSD Awareness Month. The walkathon is scheduled for Saturday, May 30, at 10 a.m. at Warinanco Park in Roselle.

“There are not enough people who know or understand what PTSD is, and it’s something we need to change,” Sergio Granados, Union County Freeholder and a founder of Moving New Jersey Forward, said in a release. “Raising awareness helps to overcome the stigma of PTSD and effectuate treatment and positive outcomes. We need to work to provide more services for our Veterans that have sacrificed so much to improve our quality of life.”

According to the release, Moving New Jersey Forward is a community-based non-profit organization that works to raise awareness and education efforts at the local and national levels on issues pertaining to social justice.

Veteran and Clark Township native, Eric Peters, 24, will speak at the event. In 2014, Peters walked from his home in Clark to California to raise awareness for PTSD. Peters was in the 101st Airborne Division and received a Purple Heart during his service.

“Many of those veterans who are suffering with PTSD just don’t fit in with civilian life. Many are angry, afraid, irritable and just lost,” Peters said in the release. “These veterans lose their appetites, their friends and any hope of recovering. Every night, they wake up in a cold sweat after having another nightmare.”

Registration can be done on the “Walking in my Boots” website. Entry fees cost $20 after May 20.

For more information contact Janna Williams, United States Air Force veteran and founder of VET4U, at 908-590-3869 or email vet4u2@gmail.com.