Last Saturday, 10th of May, a walk for suicide prevention took place in La Cala, held simultaneously in many other cities around the world. The walk, called ‘Darkness into Light’ had almost 50 participants and was coordinated by Afesol Mental Health. 

It is a campaign that began in Dublin 17 years ago through the Pieta House Foundation, which proposed holding a walk that would start at night and run through to dawn, thereby raising awareness of the problem of suicide. Afesol Mental Health joined the initiative a decade ago. "The place is beautiful and starting at night, at around six in the morning, symbolises the darkness in which many people who even think about suicide may find themselves, but the dawn also reflects the light that comes, both for those who go through it and for their families", said Carmina Muñoz, one of the participants. 

In this regard, the president of Afesol Mental Health, Cristian González, added that "from our group we continue to fight and call for more resourdes that are needed to prevent the problem of suicide, a subject that has been taboo for many years, although little by little more and more people are talking about it".

 

Every year in Spain, around 4,000 families suffer the loss of a loved one to suicide, in other words, 10 people take their own lives every day in Spain, hence the importance of continuing to promote this type of activity so that society becomes aware of this issue. "From the Mijas Town Hall we have also joined this cause, especially to highlight the work that Afesol does in this field, because they offer unconditional support to people suffering from mental health problems and also do an incredible job in trying to prevent suicide", said the councillor for Social Inclusion, Mari Francis Alarcón (PP), who also attended the event. The councillor also recalled that "Afesol  is completing the supported housing units that they need and that will also serve as their headquarters here in Mijas". 

Regarding this supported housing project, the president of Afesol explained that "the building is almost finished, thanks also to a grant of 350,000 euros from the Malaga Provincial Council, which has allowed us to complete the work and get it up and running, thereby providing a service to all the residents of the municipality”.

The walk, which ended with breakfast in La Cala, was also attended by representatives of the Idiliq Foundation, including its president, Juan Miguel Marcos, who pointed out the international scope of this activity, "and we wanted to be present because many of our clients and also a good part of our staff are foreigners, so it was a perfect reason to share this day with good people". 

The next event in aid of Afesol will take place this weekend at the Cerrado del Águila facilities, which for the fourth year is organising a padel tournament in support of this group. 

 

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