Joe's Giants Darkness into Light Walk in Southport

Darkness into Light Walk

21st May 2022 @ 3:00 am – 9:30 am

On the morning of the 21st of May, Joe’s Giants will be holding a “night into the morning” walk in Southport to help end the stigma around mental health.

Joe’s Giants is a local Southport Charity founded by Alex Fitz in the memory of his friend Joe who sadly took his own life in 2017.  Joe’s Giants aims to reconnect people with the outdoors and promote the benefits of it on our lives and mental health.

The Darkness into Light Walk aims to bring together members of the community to support each other and bring the discussions around mental health to the forefront.  Whilst many of our walks are centered around males, the Darkness into Light Walk is open to all.  (Suicide represents the largest cause of death for men under 50.  In 2017, 5821 suicides were recorded in Great Britain, of which 75% were males 

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/suicidesintheunitedkingdom/2017registrations),

The Darkness into Light walk is to represent that we can all enter a dark space, but there is always light at the “end of the tunnel”.

We want to use this time to remember those we have lost this year and share Joe’s anniversary with all attendees of the morning. With Joe’s anniversary being the 20th of May, this is the perfect date for us to bring everyone together, for Joe, for those we’ve lost, and for those who need the light.

The walk will start at 3am meeting at King’s Gardens, Southport, and we will take a 10-mile charity walk around the Marine Lake and surrounding areas. We will walk in guided groups, regathering to listen to speeches & soft music, for a moment of reflection. There will be mental health first aiders in attendance. If you feel unable to complete the full 10 miles then that’s completely understandable, we will have various entry and exit points throughout the walk with certificates awarded at the end of the charity event.

We are looking for a whole community response, our last walk saw us guide 65 people, and this time, we aim for more. We encourage any individual, organisation, or support that can be present and provided on the day of the event, to provide hope, happiness, strength, and solidarity throughout, to come forward, and join us.

Darkness Into The Light Walk - Joe's Giants (joesgiants.co.uk)