Photo: Supplied.
A non-professional, non-profit initiative is tackling loneliness, one chat at a time, encouraging positive human interactions.
Recently, you may have seen volunteers dressed in bright orange shirts and caps sitting in parks and waving from street corners. These volunteers are members of Sit N Chat, a movement that encourages human connection and positivity by reaching out to people and simply talking.
Sit N Chat is a network volunteer organisation that facilitates time for conversations and fosters connections in the community. Like its name, it’s all about sitting, listening, and chatting.
Organiser Craig Moore says Sit N Chat is “not just a fake ‘Hi how are you?’”.
“We want communities to connect with each other,” said Craig, adding that nine people die from suicide daily in Australia.
“Our goal is to have pop-up locations all over the country at parks and riverfronts, locations at schools for senior students to engage with one another, a mobile Sit N Chat where volunteers visit people’s homes.
“Many of our volunteers can sit for hours with people. If volunteers are free, they wave at cars. It’s all about giving time for people to vent and seeing them smile.”
Sit N Chat is non-religious and non-political. If you’d like to volunteer your time or learn more about this initiative, search for Sit N Chat on Facebook.
