A Scrap of Paper on a Cardiff Bench

One day, in the Roath neighbourhood of Cardiff, Wales, Allison Owen-Jones was walking her dog. On a park bench, an elderly man was sitting alone.

The dog went up to him. The man's face lit up. Then the dog ran off, and his expression dropped.

Allison wondered whether he would like some company. But approaching a stranger felt overwhelming. How do you know if someone wants to talk?

She found a very simple answer. She printed a message on green paper, laminated it, punched two holes and tied it to a bench. It read: "Sit here if you don't mind someone stopping to say hello."

Her son then shared a photo of a sign on social media. It drew hundreds of likes.

A screen can isolate. It can also send people back outside, to a bench.

In 2019, that son, a city councillor, brought the idea to Cardiff council. The city then installed three permanent benches, in Bute Park, Hailey Park and Roath Pleasure Gardens. The idea crossed borders: the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and as far as Kraków, Poland.

In Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, the community health board brought the project to the municipality in 2019. By 2022, 20 benches there invited passers-by to talk.

In Quebec City, the city now has 21 blue "bancs à jasette," or chat benches, in six boroughs. Their purpose: to break social isolation and encourage conversations between people who don't know each other.

From one city to the next, the same small sign makes its way.

The road is still long. In June 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) published its findings.

About one in six people worldwide experiences loneliness. It is linked to more than 871,000 deaths a year, about 100 every hour.

Young people are not spared. Between 17 and 21% of people aged 13 to 29 say they feel lonely. And lonely people are twice as likely to become depressed.

Today, October 10, is World Mental Health Day.

The WHO suggests actions within everyone's reach. Greet a neighbour. Put your phone away during a conversation. Join a group or volunteer.

Allison Owen-Jones says what she hopes her benches will do:

A bench does not cure loneliness, but it reminds us that we become someone through others. That "we" often begins with a simple hello.