FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The Lost Hours Walk is the Campaign Against Living Miserably’s flagship event. Every year, as the clocks go back, thousands of people walk forward, together, against suicide. It’s our opportunity to deal with grief differently and defiantly, smash the silence around suicide, and remember our sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, partners, loved ones and friends.

Sign up today and join hundreds of walkers across the country in the Lost Hours Walk, as they take steps to save lives. You’ll be able to walk anywhere, anytime and any distance to help us smash the silence around suicide and raise vital funds to continue our lifesaving work.

The Lost Hours Walk helps us raise funds to continue to provide and improve our life-saving services for those who need them. CALM currently spends 80% of its expenditure on delivering our services: that’s answering calls and webchats on our helpline; working with communities across the country; and campaigning for better awareness and understanding of suicide and its devastating impact. Everything else is spent on keeping the charity running and fundraising to ensure we can help more people who need our support.

Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is leading a movement against suicide. Every week 125 people in the UK take their own lives. CALM exists to change this by offering life saving services, provoking national conversation and bringing people together to stand against suicide.

We've made the Lost Hours Walk as accessible as possible by allowing everyone to plan their own walk. It's up to you to choose where, when and how far you walk to smash the stigma around suicide - meaning everyone can take part, no matter of age, location or ability.

We are encouraging everybody to walk together when the clocks go back on the 29th October. However, this is your event, so you can decide the date, time, distance and route that works for you. Just make sure to leave yourself enough time to plan and recruit family and friends, so your Lost Hours Walk experience is as simple and stress-free as possible.

You’ll need to plan your own Lost Hours Walk route – but we’ve made it as simple as possible. We suggest choosing a route that is between 1 and 50km, but you can choose any distance or location, just make sure to follow local laws and guidance. Head to the plan your walk page for more tips.

Absolutely. CALM provides a life-saving helpline and webchat service for people in the UK, and any funds raised will go to support this work. If you are outside of the UK, some of the support we offer in the lead up to your walk might not be available, but we’ll always do our best.

As you’re organising your own walk, this is up to you. We’d recommend creating a route that’s suitable for all walkers, so bear this in mind if young children will be walking with you. We’d recommend that any children taking part do it with a parent or carer’s permission, or with them present.

Unfortunately not. We’re a small team and won’t be able to come and meet you on your walk. We’ll be able to support you via email and on the phone should you have any questions.

It's completely free to sign up for the walk, and you'll have access to lots of free resources to help you plan. You'll have access to CALM Kit, some of which is free to order. Any other costs associated with your walk have to be covered by you.

It’s entirely up to you who you walk with - go it alone or gather your friends, family and colleagues to help you take a stand against suicide.

If you want to take part in the Lost Hours Walk but aren't sure how to find some walking buddies, here are a few ideas:

• Join our CALM Walking Group on Facebook and post to see if anyone local to you would like to walk together
• See if there are any local walking groups you could join to complete your walk, or who might have a Facebook group you could join to ask if anyone would like to take part with you
• Your walk doesn't have to be a group walk outdoors, you can do it any way that works for you. Like on a treadmill at your local gym. All that matters is you're taking steps to save lives

If you do meet up with people you don't know for your Lost Hours Walk, please only do so if you feel comfortable to and take appropriate measures to ensure your safety if meeting up with people you haven't met before.

Yes. You’ll be planning your own route, so it can be completely tailored to you and your group’s needs. Pick a route that’s accessible for everyone in your team, and remember to factor in rest breaks and bathrooms on route too.

No. The walk is open to everyone and you can do it your own way. You can use your wheelchair, mobility scooter or bike, – whichever best suits you. Choose a length that’s challenging, but how you do it is up to you.

Once you’ve registered, we’ll set you up with a JustGiving fundraising page to share with family and friends. You can also fundraise offline. Download a sponsorship form and pay your donations to JustGiving after your walk.

Whatever you raise helps us to be here for anyone who is struggling. We suggest everyone aim to raise £150 - that’s 18 calls to our helpline. But if you manage to raise £500 or more (excluding Gift Aid), you’ll be able to claim a CALM medal after October.

There isn't a set target, so aim to raise whatever you feel comfortable with. We'll send emails to help you along the way. And, you can get in touch if you’d like support or advice.

Yes! Everyone must register as an individual, but once you’ve done so and have a fundraising page, ask your friends and family to do the same. Nominate someone to take the lead and then link your pages together. Instructions on how to link up your pages.

No. The Lost Hours Walk is a CALM event, meaning it isn’t possible to fundraise for another charity.

Absolutely. We have merchandise and materials to make your Lost Hours Walk your own. Lost Hours Walk merchandise and materials.

All fundraising through your JustGiving page will come to CALM automatically, so you don't need to do anything to pay this in.

If you're paying in cash, the best way to do this is to pay it into your bank account and either:

• donate this to your online giving page
• send it to us through our online donation form
• sending us a cheque in the post

Please don't send cash in the post.

If you're sending us a cheque, please send it to: CALM, 5 Wootton Street, London, SE1 8TG. Please make sure to include your name and that you are paying in Lost Hours Walk fundraising alongside your cheque and, if possible, let us know you're sending this.