Mental Health Benches: A Beacon of Hope in UK Parks
In parks across the United Kingdom, a simple yet profound initiative is offering solace to those grappling with mental health challenges. Solar-panelled lights illuminate wooden benches at night, each bearing the carved message: "Someone is always listening." These benches serve as both a place for quiet reflection and a direct link to support services, featuring helpline numbers and QR codes that connect individuals to mental health resources.
From Personal Tragedy to National Movement
The project began with Michelle Hazard, who lost her son Jay to suicide in 2019. After her local council declined her request for a memorial bench, she founded a charity to fund not only Jay's bench in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, but dozens more. Her vision has since expanded, with benches now installed in 100 parks from Dorset to Hull, and ambitions to place them in every park and outside every sports ground nationwide.
Michelle shared a poignant story of impact: a suicidal woman emailed her with a simple "Thank you" after sitting on a bench, scanning the QR code, and realizing that people care. "If it saves one person," Michelle said, "then having a million benches out there would be money well spent—because it's saved someone's life, then another family doesn't have to go through what we go through."
Community Support and Celebrity Endorsement
The initiative has garnered widespread support, including from former football stars. At the unveiling of the 100th bench in Harlow, Essex, Tottenham Hotspur legends such as Ossie Ardiles, Graham Roberts, Gary Mabbutt, Pat Jennings, and Mark Falco were present. Michelle's brother, Micky Hazard, also a former Spurs player, has become a key campaigner for the charity.
Gary Mabbutt, who lost his niece to suicide, emphasized the benches' role in reminding people that support is available: "Everyone will have someone in their family or someone they know who they've lost to suicide, and we want to get these benches around the country to remind people that if they want to talk, there are people who will listen to them."
Pat Jennings added, "My family as well have had a couple of people with mental health problems who have taken their own lives, so it brings you right back to memories of those people."
Broader Impact and Personal Testimonies
The benches have inspired others to contribute. After Sky News reported on 16-year-old Evie Roodhouse's school assembly about her father's suicide, viewer Chris Thompson funded a bench in his memory. East 17 singer Tony Mortimer, who lost his brother to suicide, praised the initiative as "a genius idea," noting that it addresses "permanent decisions on temporary emotions."
The mother of TV presenter Caroline Flack, who attended the event, expressed comfort in having a bench in her daughter's name in Tottenham. She reflected on the sudden nature of suicide, stating, "I believe it's already saved lives, and if it's one or two—that's enough."
These benches stand as tangible symbols of hope, offering a lifeline to those in dark moments and fostering a community of care across the UK.
