Although the Four Days Marches may not be more than walking a good deal, getting up early, and party, it has a deeper load for Bernard Elshout from Tilburg. He lost his son Tim to suicide at the age of 27. Bernard then founded Foundation 27, with which he is committed to mental health among young people.
“A very talented, smart guest,” Bernard describes his son. “Everyone walked away with him and he could sing well. But he didn’t like it anymore, he was lost in a labyrinth of impossibilities and he no longer saw the possibilities.”
We don’t get him back, “Bernard continues.” But I can still look at this, “he says, watching a video of a singing Tim.
After the death of his son, the Tilburger Foundation 27 founded, who is tough for young people who have problems with their mental health. “26 young people run off to the other world a month,” he says. “That is more than killing in traffic by bike per month. And that is way too much.”
Bernard would like to see that talking about suicide in the future is no longer a taboo. To draw attention to his foundation, he is therefore running forty kilometers on the roads in and around Nijmegen this year.
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He participated seven times before in the Four Days Marches, and in 2018 together with Tim. “Every step I take is for Tim,” says Bernard with tears in his eyes. “If I walk past the points this year where I have had certain conversations with Tim, I will certainly think of him.”
This year he walks with his partner Jorinde. “Of course I walk along to support him and his foundation and recruit new donors so that we can help more young people,” she explains. Together they are confident that they will defy the Via Gladiola on Friday.
Talking about thoughts to suicide helps. You can call 24 hours a day with Stichting 113 Suicide Prevention via 0900 0113 or chat via 113.nl.
