'Happy to Chat' bench aims to get people talking in Lowell

LOWELL — While discussing what has been called a “loneliness epidemic” infecting the nation, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy stated loneliness can pose health risks that are as harmful to a person as smoking 15 cigarettes daily.

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan shared this information while introducing her “Let’s Connect” initiative outside the Moody Elementary School on Wednesday afternoon. As part of the initiative, Ryan, along with British Consul General to New England Peter Abbott and Mayor Sokhary Chau, cut a ribbon on a new bench outside the school that will serve as a “Happy to Chat” space.

The bench provides a spot where people of all ages can sit, talk and connect. A plaque mounted to the bench states, “you are welcome to sit and relax if you are open to chatting and hopefully someone will join you.”

“The issue of loneliness and diminished feelings of connectivity has in some way impacted virtually everyone over the past three years,” Ryan said. “It is something that spans generations and has brought on global attention as professionals from health care to government leaders and even professional sports seek a way to bring people together in the age of smartphones and virtual meetings. The launch of this new initiative builds on international best practices while being rooted in the mission of my office to improve public safety through innovative prevention, which includes addressing things like loneliness that impact physical and mental health.”

The bench is modeled after an initiative by England’s Manchester United Football Club. This year, the soccer team installed several “Happy to Chat” benches with the goal to help those dealing with loneliness and isolation. It’s an idea that has developed a global reach, Abbott said.

While addressing the crowd that gathered outside the Moody Elementary School on Wednesday, including dozens of students, Abbott held up a cellphone.

“These give us the illusion that we’re connected,” Abbott said. “You think that if you have all these followers on Instagram, or TikTok or wherever. Well, I think the answer increasingly is that it doesn’t mean you’re connected. … The only way we really connect is face-to-face, like this, in person, in the flesh. That’s why this bench, this initiative, is such a wonderful thing.”

Moody Elementary School Principal Roberta Keefe thanked Ryan for the bench’s placement outside the school on Rogers Street.

“In a world that sometimes can be impacted by negative situations, it’s important to recognize the value of genuine human connection through conversations that promote community, empathy and support,” Keefe said. “I encourage everyone to embrace the spirit of this bench by reaching out to others, especially the elderly, strike up a conversation, make new friends and build relationships.”

Ryan noted the bench’s placement between the school and next door’s Rogers Hall creates an opportunity to bring people of all ages together. Rogers Hall is home to those over the age of 60.

“I hope neighbors, both young and elderly, will sit at this bench and see it as a gesture of peace and patience and that the city is a place in which they feel welcomed,” Chau said.