Avicii's father opens up about foundation's work to prevent suicides
Avicci’s father, Klas Bergling, has opened up about The Tim Bergling Foundation’s work to prevent suicides.
The foundation, started in honour of Avicii following his death from suicide in 2018, is named after their son and aims to champion causes the late Swedish DJ cared about during his lifetime.
Whilst the foundation also supports issues surrounding climate change and endangered animals, its main work is with suicide prevention.
Speaking to Billboard, Klaus opened up about the work the foundation has done during its first year, including extensive work with mental health organisations and experts.
Klaus said: “We very much trust the organisations we work with. They have experts, and these experts are the ones who guide us. What we’ve focused on here is helping two organizations build a 24/7, 365 day a year helpline because it doesn’t exist here in Sweden. It’s very strange. I shouldn’t criticise the Swedish government, but we’re lacking that, really.
“It’s very obvious that preventative actions are the most efficient actions you can take, and they are often the actions that are least taken. That’s the way it is, unfortunately. The first organization, Bris, is for children. Then we’re working with an organization called Mind, which serves the age groups above that. We’re focusing on children, young people and young grownups.”
Other work the foundation has done include partnering with organisations to deliver lectures in schools about drugs and alcohol.
“I visited a couple of these lectures, and they get very engaged, Klaus added. “The response from all the young people there was tremendous. We are trying to help them scale it up to meet more young people out there in schools.”
Speaking about his son’s legacy, Klaus explained: “In the time after his death, we got such a lovely response. We haven’t gotten anything negative. We opened up a website for fans to communicate about their feelings. I would say, it’s a very solid and positive atmosphere around Tim and for what he stood for.
“He was very direct, very honest; he was funny in a very subtle way. He had a big passion for nature, animals and justice. He didn’t like injustice…We really miss him.
“We’ve gotten letters from fans saying, ‘Tim saved my life’…I really hope the helplines can stop suicides and help give second thoughts to people who are considering suicide.”
Last year, The Avicii Tribute Concert for Mental Health Awareness, took place at the Friends Arena in Stockholm on December 5 with artists including Adam Lambert, David Guetta, Rita Ora and more playing to raise money for the foundation.
