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04th May 2016

Darkness Into Light 2016 is just days away – have you signed up yet?

Tony Cuddihy

The flagship fundraiser for Pieta House is just around the corner.

Many thousands of people across the world will get up before dawn next Saturday morning and take part in one of the biggest, and most important, fundraisers on the calendar.

Darkness Into Light 2016 – which you can still sign up for here – is the flagship event for Pieta House, the suicide and self harm crisis centre.

More than 110 venues across the world will stage Darkness Into Light this year, its eighth since roughly 400 people took the first walk into dawn in Dublin’s Phoenix Park in 2009.

Electric Ireland released this video around the event last week.

Pieta House is now in its 10th year as an organisation and, in that time, more than 25,000 clients have passed through its doors suffering with suicidal ideation or engaging in self-harm.

In 2015 alone, Pieta House saw more than 5,500 clients and Darkness Into Light is one of the core reasons that it continues to function so well to help the various communities in which it operates.

A study from the University of Limerick recently revealed how taking part in Darkness Into Light can have a very positive effect on the people who gather together for the walk.

“We found that there was an increase in levels of well-being after taking part in the event, and that the effects were largest for those who had lost an immediate family member to suicide,” revealed researcher Michelle Kearns.

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“We believe that a key part of this is the feeling of support and connection that participants experience while taking part in Darkness Into Light.”

The study also revealed how it can help the healing process of someone who has lost a loved one to suicide.

Dr Paul Surgenor, Director of Research at Pieta House, commented: “Darkness Into Light can be viewed as more than just a fundraiser – it’s an intervention for those who have lost somebody to suicide, and an act of support and solidarity for everyone else.

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“This finding can be explained through processes of group identification with other participants and social connectedness.

“These findings confirm anecdotal evidence we’ve heard from participants over the last eight years and we’re sure that this is why Darkness Into Light has become the phenomenal success it has.”

For further information on Darkness Into Light event locations and registration please visit www.darknessintolight.ie.

For further information on Pieta House please visit www.pieta.ie or follow the centre on Facebook and Twitter.

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