Overview
- This week dozens of local Walk into the Light events across the Netherlands gathered residents for sunrise walks designed to break the taboo around suicide and start conversations about mental health.
- Participants used symbolic gestures such as lanterns and the unveiling of a 113 bench in Groningen to remember people lost and to invite passersby to talk.
- Laura Bos, a 32-year-old participant, recounted losing two friends to suicide and surviving a suicide attempt 14 months ago and called for permanent walk-in centres where people can get immediate listening and referral.
- Mental-health workers and peer professionals said they are more often using their own lived experience in care to connect with people in crisis and to teach communities how to notice warning signs.
- Organizers say Walk into the Light has grown since 2021 into a national movement and that the rising turnout underscores calls for continuous local support points rather than only an annual awareness day.