ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Six days into retirement, in April 1998, depressed and still grieving over the loss of his wife, his children fully grown, Bernard Ollivier set out to hike the Way of St. James from Paris to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, hoping to figure out what to do next in life. When the journey was over—2,300 kilometers (1,430 miles) later—he returned home with two ideas: he would work with troubled teens, helping them put their lives back together through the act of walking, just as he had done for himself; and he would walk yet another of history’s great roads. In April 1999, he set out to hike the Silk Road (12,000 kilometers or 7,450 miles), and, in the year 2000, he founded the Seuil Association, dedicated to helping juvenile offenders by offering them the opportunity to travel as an alternative to prison.
The Seuil Association (Seuil meaning “Threshold”), founded by Bernard Ollivier in 2003, organizes long-distance, transformative hikes for troubled teens (typically at least 2,000 kilometers or 1,240 miles).
Seuil works in collaboration with French Children’s Social Services and the French Ministry of Justice (the Judicial Protection of Young Persons Program). Select young people facing confinement can opt to embark on long-distance treks as an alternative to prison or an educational detention center. “Long walks” are offered preventatively to other young men and women in distress as well, whenever traditional approaches fail.
Seuil—Association (Organized under French Law 1901)
31, rue Planchat
75020 Paris
Telephone: +33 (0)1 44 27 09 88
Fax: +33 (0)1 40 46 01 97
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: assoseuil.org
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