PIETA HOUSE WALK
OVER 2500 people participated in this year’s Darkness into Light Sligo. The annual 5k walk/ run, in aid of Pieta House, took place in the early hours of last Saturday week, beginning at 4: 15am at IT Sligo.
The local committee announced the total amount raised has exceeded last year, with € 45,000 being raised by all those who participated. All money raised goes directly towards the vital services provided by Pieta House, who provide free counselling services. Pieta House has also begun a new resilience programme aimed at secondary schools which are currently being rolled out across the country.
This year’s event was the 5th Darkness into light that has taken place in Sligo. The flagship awareness walk/ run had a record- breaking number of participants this year in Sligo and across Ireland. Well in excess of 150,000 people took part in the events all over Ireland, north and south, and across the world.
Speaking after the event Sligo chairperson Lisa Carroll said: “The continued support for Darkness into Light in Sligo has been incredible. It has become an anticipated event, growing year after year. Not only is this an endorsement of the vital services that Pieta House provide, but also it shows a willingness from the community to take steps towards eradicating suicide”.
Since it began in one venue - the Phoenix Park in Dublin in 2009 – Darkness Into Light has grown into a global movement against suicide. Funds raised help to keep Pieta House counselling services free to those in suicidal crisis, people who engage in self- harm and those bereaved by suicide.