Jeff Fillmore moments after completing his walk From B.C. to Bridgewater.
A man has returned to his hometown of Bridgewater after a fifteen month journey of self-healing.
Jeff Fillmore left Maple Ridge B.C. in June of last year to make the more than 6,000km trek across Canada.
Fillmore moved to B.C. twenty-six years ago, but after struggling with his mental health, he decided that he needed to come home.
“I realized that my mental health was deteriorating and it needed to be taken care of,” said Fillmore. “I literally woke up one morning and decided that I needed to go for a long walk.”
Three months later, Fillmore began his cross-country walk home with nothing but a baby jogging cart to carry a few of his possessions.
“My goal was to repair my mental health and to touch the sign of the town that I grew up in,” said Fillmore.
Fillmore reached that goal on Sunday afternoon when he was greeted by friends, family and supporters at the ‘Welcome to Bridgewater’ sign near Aberdeen road.
He believes he has achieved more over the past fifteen months than he had originally planned.
“I got exactly what I was looking for and then some,” said Fillmore. “I found self discovery, I’ve found peace and forgiveness within myself and I’ve gathered strength from others sharing their stories of mental health problems that they have gone through or are currently going through.”
Fillmore said he still has a battle ahead of him when it comes to fully repairing his mental health, but for now he plans to put down roots in his home province and take things one day at a time.
