A new initiative at Thompson Rivers University is encouraging students, staff and visitors to put down their phones, strike up a conversation and make new connections.

Six brightly designed “Happy to Chat” benches have recently been installed across the Kamloops campus as part of a global movement aimed at reducing loneliness and social isolation. The benches carry a simple invitation: “Sit here if you don’t mind someone stopping to say hello.”

The idea was brought to TRU by nursing instructor Jessica Chardon, who said her background in public health and mental health helped inspire the project.

“We know that loneliness is a problem faced by many people all around the world,” Chardon said in an interview. “We know there are some very significant health implications of chronic loneliness and isolation.”

From one bench to six

Chardon first learned about Happy to Chat benches several years ago after seeing the concept used overseas.

The movement began in 2019 in Cardiff, Wales, and has since spread to communities around the world, including Canada, the United States, Australia and Poland.

Her original vision was modest.

“My original vision was one bench on campus,” Chardon said.

But after partnering with Student Services, Campus Infrastructure, Sustainability and Ancillary Services, the Faculty of Trades and Technology and the Faculty of Arts, the project expanded significantly.

TRU welding students built the benches, while visual arts students created the artwork featured on each one. Themes include birds in flight, Kamloops landscapes, floral patterns and undersea scenes.

There are currently six benches installed around campus, with a seventh planned for a future building.

Early success stories

Although the benches were only officially unveiled earlier this month, Chardon said they’re already serving their intended purpose.

One of her students recently sat on a bench hoping to meet someone new.

“Someone did sit down with her and they had a great conversation, made a connection and now they know each other on campus,” Chardon said.

Another example came from an Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training workshop held at TRU shortly after the benches were installed.

Alexandra Floyd, an ASIST trainer, said two workshop participants returned late from lunch after stopping to talk with someone sitting at one of the benches.

When she later debriefed with them, she learned they had spent the time helping someone in distress.

“They essentially said they did an intervention with somebody,” Floyd said. “It means they’re working.”

Breaking down barriers

Floyd said the benches offer a simple way to overcome the social barriers that often prevent people from connecting with strangers.

“It’s a really good non-verbal cue to maybe allow someone to connect with somebody else when maybe they wouldn’t have,” she said.

She noted that many students arrive in Kamloops from other communities, provinces and countries, often leaving behind family and support networks.

“There’s so much situational change that can come from just going to pursue education,” Floyd said. “It’s one of those things that seems to address the human in this space.”

The initiative may be especially valuable at a time when many social interactions increasingly happen online.

“We are so focused on our own day-to-day lives that we get stuck in routine,” Floyd said. “We need more opportunities to build connected communities.”

Looking ahead

Each bench includes a QR code that links users to information about the project and its purpose.

TRU plans to launch a broader awareness campaign when students return to campus in September, including a formal grand opening and recruitment of student and staff ambassadors who will help encourage conversations around the benches.

Chardon said she hopes the project reminds people of the value of simple, face-to-face interactions.

“The hope is that people put down their phones and talk to each other and make connection,” she said.

For Floyd, the benches represent something even bigger.

“We are all human first,” she said. “It’s just one of those things that addresses the human in this space. And I just think that’s beautiful.”