A global mental health initiative that started with wooden benches in Zimbabwe is set to take root in Lowndes County next spring, bringing free, face-to-face support for those who may otherwise go without help.
Wil’Lani Turner, circulation and career services coordinator for Columbus-Lowndes Public Library, outlined her plans for bringing the Friendship Bench initiative to Lowndes County to supervisors Monday during the board’s regular meeting. She also spoke Tuesday to Columbus City Council.
The program will rely on trained volunteers who sit at benches installed in public spaces to offer accessible support to residents who may be struggling with mental health issues but lack the resources to seek professional care.
Wil’Lani Turner
“It’s not a (replacement) for therapy per say, but if you have somebody who is on the edge, and they can’t afford to go talk to somebody, these people will be trained by a licensed counselor (to help),” Turner told supervisors.
The Friendship Bench initiative started in 2006 after Zimbabwean psychiatrist Dixon Chibanda lost a patient to suicide. The patient did not have the bus fare needed to travel for treatment, sparking Chibanda’s idea to make mental health care more accessible by placing the care directly in communities on public benches.
A Friendship Bench is pictured. The global initiative was started in Zimbabwe in 2006 by psychiatrist Dixon Chibanda after he lost one of his patients to suicide when she could not afford the bus fare to receive the care she needed. Courtesy of Friendship Bench
Since then, the initiative has expanded to other countries, including El Salvador, Botswana, Kenya and Germany. Lowndes County will be the fourth location to host the initiative in America, Turner said, along with locations in Washington, D.C., Ohio and New Orleans.
“We’ll have six benches in the county and four in the city,” Turner said during the Monday meeting. “… It will serve veterans, (members of the) senior population and families who cannot get to the mental health care they can afford.”
Turner approached the city and county recreation departments to float the idea of placing the benches at various parks and community centers, and both departments were on board.
“This is just one of what we hope is a lot of collaboration with the county and the city,” Jennifer Claybrook, recreation director for Lowndes County, told supervisors Monday. “… We want this to help everyone.”
Jennifer Claybrook
Funded by a $16,000 grant from the National Library of Medicine, the program will start with 10 volunteers, one for each bench, trained by a licensed counselor to provide in-person support to those looking for care.
The training, according to the Friendship Bench website, focuses on providing basic cognitive behavioral therapy with an emphasis on problem solving. The program also includes an initial screening questionnaire and a referral pathway for cases requiring a higher level of care, the website said.
Turner has already made efforts to secure volunteers for the program that vary by age.
“I think with most teenagers and young adults, they don’t want to talk to someone that’s their parent’s age,” she said. “So we’re branching out and giving some young adults and opportunity to be trained. So they’ll have some people that look like them as well as (volunteers from) the older population.”
After volunteers are trained and benches installed, Claybrook said her office will coordinate with Turner to ensure recreation department staff are aware of when and where volunteers will be stationed.
“So that we know it’s legitimate, and that’s who’s supposed to be there,” she told supervisors Monday.
The library will then publish a similar schedule on social media, so those in need of care can know when to access it, Turner said.
“They’ll know exactly what person should be there, their first and last name and their information, so (those seeking care) will have an idea that it’s not some random person showing up but an actual volunteer that’s going to be there,” she said.
The plan, Turner said, is to have the first benches installed in April 2027, at which time there will be two ribbon cuttings held, one for a county bench and one for a city bench.
Having struggled before with her own mental health, Turner said she believes the initiative will provide an outlet for people to turn to when they don’t have many other options.
“I feel like if somebody is not able to talk to a parent, if they’re not able to talk to a sister or a brother and they need to be able to get it out, then there’s an opportunity for them to do so,” she said. “… It’s easier to access versus having to make an appointment. If you’ve ever been to therapy, you know you can’t get in right away. … If I need help right away, I may not be able to afford to wait three weeks to get that help or just to talk to somebody.”
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
Posted in Columbus & Lowndes County
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