This year I’ll be taking part in the Headlight Hike Into the Light, walking 10 miles through the night from Cod Beck Reservoir and along the Cleveland Way. We set off at 10:30pm and keep going until sunrise — a long, quiet journey through the dark, with the first light waiting for us at the end.

I’m doing this because far too many families in our area know the pain of losing someone to suicide. The Tees Valley has one of the highest rates in the country, and behind every number is a person, a family, a story that changed forever.

The Headlight Project is there for those families. They offer specialist therapy to people bereaved by suicide, and they work tirelessly in schools, workplaces and communities to prevent more lives being lost. Their work brings hope into places that feel unbearably heavy.

If you’re able to support me, even with a small donation, it genuinely makes a difference. It helps someone get the therapy they desperately need. It helps a young person learn how to ask for help. It helps a family feel less alone.

Thank you for reading, and for standing with me — and with them — as we walk into the light.