Who we are
About us
Five mothers and women – the founders of HALTO
HALTO began with five mothers who shared a powerful experience: how relieving it can be to meet regularly and simply talk. Without having to explain too much – because the other person understands straight away.
Our children have very different disabilities. And it was precisely this diversity that made something clear early on: in the end, it is not the “label” of a diagnosis that matters, but the shared reality of those who carry responsibility every day, who think ahead and keep going.
Many services are organised around specific diagnoses – and that is important and valuable. HALTO aims to complement this by creating a space where people can come together, regardless of the condition or diagnosis at the centre of their lives.
HALTO has grown out of lived experience – including moments when simply “coping” was no longer enough. It comes from the desire that no one should have to reach their limit to be understood. And from the realisation that sometimes, a single conversation at the right table can change everything.
Today, three of these mothers form the board and continue to carry HALTO forward – as a beginning that connects, because it does not divide.
Why HALTO?
The name HALTO comes from a Luxembourgish phrase:
“Et ass Halt do.” – there is support there.
When spoken aloud, it sounds like: HALTO.
And that is exactly what we are about:
finding support and offering it,
pausing and taking a breath,
the hand that says, “Stop, just a moment,”
and the hand that holds and supports from below.
HALTO is a play on words. And a way of being.
That is also why HALTO carries the pause symbol in its logo.
It stands for taking a moment, for breathing space –
for the permission not to have to keep going all the time.
HALTO aims to be exactly that: a place where you are allowed to pause – and find support.
Debora Sylvia Nathalie Raoul
Mission
HALTO is committed to ensuring that people who carry daily responsibility for someone in need of care are not left alone.
We bring individuals together – regardless of diagnosis or label – and create opportunities that make exchange, short moments of respite, and practical guidance in everyday life more accessible.
Our mission is to foster connection, make small moments of relief more realistic, and help make pathways visible – respectfully, confidentially, and as a complement to existing services and professional support.
Vision
We envision a Luxembourg where no one falls into a silent emptiness after a diagnosis.
A place where, early on, there is a hand, a glance, an “I know this” – and the feeling: I do not have to walk this path alone.
HALTO aims to become a place where those who carry responsibility are themselves supported.
Where no one has to struggle to find orientation.
Where many individual stories come together to form a quiet “we” – and from that “we”, support emerges.
