Tom Budd is best known in the Okanagan for his generous donations to numerous charities.
But in the last three years, both the former investment banker’s young sons took their own lives.
Budd went from coffee shop to coffee shop around Kelowna on his bike Wednesday to talk to people about mental health and wants more people to keep the conversation going.
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“I’ve got pain but I can take away other people’s pain and that keeps me going,” Budd said.
Dillon and Payton Budd, both in their teens, each shot themselves in events that happened two years apart.
Budd said the torment and sadness is all consuming.
“I would cry daily. I had grief. I had trauma,” Budd said. “When I cried, it was like puking out my organs.”
Budd has partnered with the Canadian Mental Health Association to promote an upcoming mental health awareness event: Ride Don’t Hide.
The ride takes place June 24 in cities across Canada.
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