Leaving the house in the early hours of the morning might sound like a ridiculous suggestion for some, but for the wilful walkers of the Darkness into Light community there is a very worthy cause behind it all.
Darkness into Light is now a worldwide movement that provides people with the opportunity to connect with their local community to bring hope to those impacted by suicide.
Here PSS member Mark Feenan sheds some light on his own Darkness into Light experience when he travelled from Widnes to Warrington.
On the 10th of September (World Suicide Prevention Day) 2022 I took part in my second Darkness into Light Walk. The significance of the walk being no matter how dark things get there will always be light.
I met up with my fellow walkers at 2.45am at Widnes Vikings stadium and we started walking at 3am. The walk went past Spike Island and under the new Gateway Bridge then followed the trans-Pennine trail to Warrington, a total of 8.5 miles.
We were in groups of about 20 and each group had a Samaritans volunteer who was there if we needed to chat.
The walkers were made up of suicide survivors, families affected by suicide and people who have experienced suicidal thoughts.
In my group I met three men who had set up a mental health support group in Nottingham
and had come to join the walk as there wasn’t anything similar planned in their area.
Lots of stories were shared and there were lots of tears as well as laughter as we all shared similar life experiences whilst raising awareness of the stigma surrounding suicide and mental health problems.
A mile from the finish we stopped at the Golden Square in Warrington where a screen showed personal messages of support and a Tree of Hope where people could leave a record of their thoughts and light a candle.
Find out more about Darkness into Light by visiting: https://www.darknessintolight.ie/
