English Seaside Town Installed Chat Benches To Combat Loneliness

Burnham, England has launched a new campaign to combat loneliness. The English seaside town's police have installed "chat benches" where people would sit down and have the chance to talk to anyone. Yahoo Lifestyle has the details:

“The Chat Bench is a very simple concept where a sign is placed on a bench, typically in a park or a town centre, in a location used by a good cross-section of the community,” said Burnham-On-Sea Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Tracey Grobbeler to Burham-On-Sea.com.
“The sign simply helps to break down the invisible, social barriers that exists between strangers who find themselves sharing a common place,” said Grobbeler.
“Simply stopping to say ‘hello’ to someone at the Chat Bench could make a huge difference to the vulnerable people in our communities and help to make life a little better for them.”
“A simple ‘Hello’ or ‘Are you OK?’ can make such a difference to a person.”

In addition to combat isolation and loneliness, these chat benches also serve another purpose:

The Burnham-On-Sea Police Department introduced the chat benches to coincide with World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, which encourages community members to appreciate and engage with the senior population — and to raise awareness of the physical, emotional and financial abuse many older people endure.

image credit : Burnham-On-Sea.com via Yahoo Lifestyle


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