The local branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association has launched a new initiative as part of their Sole Focus project.
Blue friendship benches, which officials hope give residents a new yet old fashioned way fight isolation and loneliness, have been installed across eight municipalities in Essex County.
Speaking on AM800's The Shift, director of communications and mental health promotion with the local CMHA Kim Willis says the pandemic set their plans back a little bit but better late than never.
"We're proud to have one of these benches, we call them friendship benches, in every municipality across Windsor and Essex County. So we encourage indiviudals to parttake when they see the bench, and also it addresses the stigma. It's meant to be a safe, inclusive space where we encourage socialization and connection," she said.
She says they had an opportunity to submit an application through the federal government and the Community Foundation a few years back to get the benches.
Willis says they're encouraging people to take pictures on the benches when they come across them and tag the local CMHA if they post it to social media.
"We like to see people using them, and we know coming out of the pandemic as well, that loneliness is a global epidemic and it can be just as dangerous as smoking cigarettes to your physical and emotional health."
She says the benches are a place to connect with people, but there's also a QR code on each bench as well which directs a user to available resources in the community when scanned.
"The benches are just one small piece that brings awareness to take a moment, pause, take a walk, get out in nature. Take a moment on the bench, if you can meet a new friend or engage in some conversation, those are all wins for your overall health," she said.
The Sole Focus project originally launched back in 2017, in an effort to address the stigma that has continued to surround mental health and addictions.
- with files from AM800's The Shift with Patty Handysides and CTV Windsor