CONNECTING the community is at the heart of the bright yellow Chatty Bench that now proudly sits in Murray Bridge’s central retail district.
Launched in September, the Chatty Bench is a community wellbeing project encouraging family, friends and strangers alike to sit down and connect through conversation.
Located at the corner of Sixth Street and South Terrace, the Chatty Bench is emblazoned with the message “sit here if you don’t mind someone stopping by to say ‘hello’.”
It is an initiative of ac.care’s Community Connections Program supported by the Rural City of Murray Bridge, the Murray Bridge Wellbeing Hub, Murray Bridge Community Centre and Preventive Health SA.
ac.care Community Connections Murraylands support worker Sheila Millington said the idea for a Chatty Bench came from research while seeking a new focus to build on the successful weekly Chatty Café social group held Thursdays at The Square Community Centre.
“In the United Kingdom they have Chatty Benches that are going really well at train stations and in parks,” Ms Millington said, adding “so I thought ‘Murray Bridge needs a Chatty Bench’.
“It is known isolation and loneliness causes bad health, not just mental health, but physical health and is now recognised as a pandemic killing more people than cigarette smoking – we are meant to connect.”
Murray Bridge Community Centre administration officer Sarah Smith welcomed the addition of the Chatty Bench to the community.
“We are proud to be the location for the Chatty Café – we were the first here in South Australia through the vital support of the ac.care Community Connection team and Sheila in particular, in conjunction with The Haven,” Ms Smith said, explaining the bench built on the opportunity provided by the weekly “café” to “sit and connect at any time of day”.
“Each Thursday we get to see a wide range of people come through and connect with each other at the café – it is fantastic,” Ms Smith said.
Murray Bridge Mayor Wayne Thorley attended the bench launch, highlighting the importance of community wellbeing.
“We have a lot of workers here who really are on their own – their families may be far away, they might be migrant workers and so forth,” Mr Thorley said.
“It is also a place where we have a significant number of people who are probably down on their luck a bit and people need to have companionship and an opportunity to talk things through with people.”
He welcomed the prominent placement of the bench in the town centre.
“I think the opportunity for someone to sit down and have a chat with somebody there is fantastic,” he said.
The Chatty Bench was built by Andy Vigar at the Murraylands Community Men’s Shed.
The Murray Bridge Chatty Café is held Thursdays at The Square from 10.30am-12.30pm.
ac.care Murraylands is located at 29 Bridge Street, Murray Bridge.
If you or someone you know is in need of support, visit www.accare.org.au, email care@accare.org.au or call (08) 8531 4900.
