Bocholt now has a "chatterbox"

Green cushions and a flag (beach flag) draw attention to the chatting bench, which can be found on the corner of Weberstraße and Schonenberg. From now on, volunteers will be taking time to listen to people there every Thursday (except public holidays and rainy weather).

Anyone who simply needs someone to talk to can drop by and take a seat. The volunteers have been specially trained. They have been familiarised with the topic of listening, their own role and boundaries and are looking forward to the people and stories they will meet on the chat bench.

The project "Plauderbank" had been on the cards for the Sehen.Helfen.Handeln e.V. association for some time. Now, with the help of the "Gemeinsam in Bocholt" initiative and the city of Bocholt's senior citizens' office, it has finally been realised" says Hildegard Frieling-Heipel, chairwoman of the association. "Listening to each other or even knowing someone you can talk to is no longer a matter of course these days, and the first Bocholt chatting bench now offers all of this."

"We support the project because we also realise in the senior citizens' office that many people are lonely and would like a sympathetic ear" says Christian Tewiele, head of the senior citizens' office in Bocholt.

The initiative "Gemeinsam in Bocholt" will officially start on 3 July with a kick-off event to which Karl-Josef Laumann, Minister of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, has also confirmed his attendance. "However, we would like to start the Plauderbank project now so that we can report on our initial experiences at the event, attract more volunteers as listeners and, above all, be able to use the whole summer for this", Tewiele continues. "If the chatting bench is very well received, we can also imagine setting up chatting benches in other places in Bocholt".

Loneliness has increased in many parts of the world since the coronavirus pandemic and has become a widespread social problem. Numerous studies and surveys show that the pandemic has greatly increased the proportion of people who feel lonely. According to a study by the German Psychological Society (2021), there has been a significant increase in loneliness during the pandemic. Loneliness has not only emotional but also health effects. Long-term loneliness can lead to mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and sleep disorders. The immune system can also be weakened, as isolation can lead to stress and a reduced quality of life.