A sunrise walk to raise awareness

First put together by an Irish father who lost his son to suicide, Darkness into Light has become well known in Ireland and beyond, so much so that it is now organised in 15 other countries mostly by communities of Irish expats.

Participants will set off on a walk before sunrise and keep going until the sun is shining bright.

After losing her mother to suicide Caoimhe Alliot helped bring Darkness into Light to Luxembourg. She spoke about her experiences to RTL Today Radio's Melissa Dalton on The Home Stretch.

“It’s a very tough subject but the walk itself is beautiful. It’s a sea of yellow people walking together at 5 am in Luxembourg. There is nobody around. The birds start to sing very shortly after you’ve started the walk. Luxembourg is so picturesque.”

© RTL Today Radio

She acknowledges that it can be hard to talk about these topics, to find the right words.  “We need to talk about it more - I find it very hard to talk about. Sometimes I find it easier to talk about it with people who didn’t know my mother."

But the main point she wants to bring across is that anybody can be affected by mental issues: "Often it can be because of life changes, hormonal changes, menopause or from a life event that throws your whole life off course. But everybody is vulnerable. Not just weaker people. We want to create support networks."

Listen here to her full interview.

For Caoimhe the walk has three main goals. Firstly, it raises awareness for the benefiting charities. In Luxembourg they are SOS Detresse, Kanner Jugend Telefon and D'Ligue Prevention Suicide. The march also shows to people who are struggling with suicidal thoughts that they are not alone. Finally, it can help people who take part to do something to remember a loved one they lost because of suicide.

With the funds collected from the walk in 2019, the Kanner Jugend Telefon was able to train personnel in English. Every Wednesday people can now reach the hotline and the emergency chat in English. Other days of the week it’s available in French and Luxembourgish.

This year's walk in Luxembourg will take place on 6 May. It will depart at 5 am in front of the Hall Omnisport in Clausen and march about 5 km. You can donate or sign up for the walk at darknessintolight.ie.