Registrations Open for 2nd Edition of Darkness Into Light Luxembourg

The official launch of Darkness Into Light (DIL) Luxembourg took place on Wednesday evening in the offices of one of the event’s sponsors Centralis Group in Luxembourg-Gare.

The launch marked the opening of registrations for this event, which is being held for the second consecutive year in Luxembourg on Saturday 9 May 2020 at 05:00. The event is taking place under the High Patronage of Her Royal Highness the Grand Duchess and with the continued support of the Irish Embassy in Luxembourg.

Darkness Into Light is an international 5 km charity walk that aims to raise awareness of suicide and self-harm and fight the stigma that often prevents people from seeking help. The first walk took place in 2009 in Dublin, where over 400 people came together at 04:00 to walk from the darkness towards the dawn and show their solidarity with people who have been bereaved by suicide, who have experienced times of darkness or who are currently struggling.

Since then, this annual walk of hope has become a global movement, with more than 200,000 people having taken part in 203 venues across 21 countries and five continents in 2019; this year will see 228 venues across 25 countries take part. Indeed, the walk took place for the first time in Luxembourg on 11 May 2019 and saw around 450 people don a yellow DIL T-shirt and brave the rain to walk together, at 05:00, for this cause. This first edition raised over €33,000 to help three partner charities in their efforts to prevent suicide and provide vital support.

The second edition of DIL Luxembourg, departing from the Centre Culturel Tramsschapp (49 Rue Ermesinde, L-1469 Luxembourg) in the early hours of 9 May 2020, will raise funds for the Irish organising charity Pieta House and three local partner charities: Service Information et Prévention of D’Ligue (La Ligue Luxembourgeoise d’Hygiène Mentale), SOS Détresse and Kanner-Jugendtelefon (KJT).

During the official launch on Wednesday, Irish Ambassador to Luxembourg Stephen Dawson, who was accompanied by Deputy Head of Mission Teresa Sweeney, expressed the Irish Embassy's “delight” at being able to support a charity event “with Irish DNA all over it”. The Ambassador recalled the importance of this cause, namely supporting those at risk and those who have suffered loss as a result of suicide. He added that the DIL movement had gone “from strength to strength” since its beginnings in Ireland ten years ago. The Irish Ambassador concluded his address by expressing confidence that this year’s Luxembourg edition would be as much if not more a success than the first.

The Irish Ambassador’s speech was followed by presentations from the three partner charities in Luxembourg.

Firstly, Dr Fränz D'Onghia, head of the Service Information et Prévention of D'Ligue, explained how the D’Ligue, founded in 1956, was the first out-of-hospital psychiatric service in Luxembourg. The service currently counts around 100 staff members who are active in three poles of activity: consultation and treatment; integration; and information and prevention. The third pole entails awareness-raising and training, as well as mental health first aid courses (soon to be launched). Regarding national suicide figures and the impact of awareness-raising actions, Dr D’Onghia noted that the number of suicides in Luxembourg had decreased since the introduction of the national suicide prevention plan in 2015, for which D’Ligue is responsible for implementation. Since then, suicides have decreased by 25%, from 85 in 2014 to 66 in 2017 (official figures for 2018-19 are not yet available), despite a growing population. He thus maintained that suicide prevention is possible when mental health is made a national policy, when mental and physical health are put “on an equal footing”, when employees are “treated like kings”, and when journalists talk about suicide “in a respectful way” which avoids sensationalism. All this, accompanied by initiatives such as DIL, contributes to “promoting hope and ending stigma” and can ultimately “help save lives”.

Similarly, psychologist Aline Hartz presented the many services of Kanner-Jugendtelefon, the national child and youth helpline. These include a telephone helpline (116 111), online support and a parents’ forum. Like D’Ligue, KJT considers awareness-raising to be very important. Children, young people and parents alike can contact the service anonymously regarding any matter. Aline Hartz explained that most young people who contact them express their concerns about stress, bullying and family conflict, among other things, although suicidal thoughts and self-harm were also among their concerns. She added that talking about such matters was “helpful but very hard”, with young people reluctant to speak out for fear of being judged. Nevertheless, the KJT’s aim is that “every child, youth and parent knows about these services and can reach out”. She added that “no problem is too big or too small”, and that initiatives like DIL are very helpful in spreading the word and making such services known. The charity, which is participating in DIL for the first time this year, plans to dedicate its share of proceeds from DIL Luxembourg 2020 to its online support, as well as possibly developing a new peer-to-peer chat service.

Last but not least, Sébastien Hay, Director of SOS Détresse, explained how the association “offers help to anyone in need” via its hotline (11:00 – 23:00 daily, and until 03:00 on Friday and Saturday, year-round) and its email service. This free support is provided by SOS Détresse’s some 50 volunteers, all of whom receive 1.5 years training from psychologists in addition to specific training related to suicide help. Mr Hay recalled that this was the second year in a row that SOS Détresse would be participating as an official charity partner of DIL Luxembourg.

Also present at the launch were the members of the organising committee and members of the Luxembourgish press.

Registration for Darkness Into Light Luxembourg 2020 is now open at https://www.darknessintolight.ie/event/luxembourg.