Request a Bench
Join our growing national network of participating schools!
We’re now accepting requests from members of Canadian* secondary and post-secondary schools (student councils, student service groups, school faculty/administration, mental health/student service departments, etc.).
Our 100% volunteer-run organization works with schools to raise the funds to deliver/install our iconic yellow friendship bench and implement our innovative #YellowIsForHello mental health awareness campaign.
The Friendship Bench is a permanent installation designed to:
- Be a permanent reminder to students to take minute of out their day to sit, breathe and talk (or think) about their mental health and that of their peers
- Encourage peer-to-peer conversations about mental health
- Via the on-bench web-address/hashtag, connect students with available on-campus mental health support service
- Act as a tool to help inspire and augment existing on-campus mental health awareness efforts
The #YellowIsForHello mental health awareness campaign is designed to:
- Support existing on-campus mental health education campaigns
- Decrease the stigma surrounding mental health
- Encourage more peer-to-peer dialogue among students in their preferred communication channels
NEW! We are now accepting applications from Canadian community groups and community centres.
Sorry, at this time, this program is only available in Canada.
Request a Bench
Request a Friendship Bench for your school or faculty – simply fill out the details below. Note: at this time, this program is only available in Canada.
Blog
4 Years and 50 Benches – The Past, Present, and Future for The Friendship Bench
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Bereaved Parents: Living Life in Black and White
July is Bereaved Parents Month, which, speaking from experience, is something those who have lost a child wish to ignore. Counterintuitive, I know. The reality is that such campaigns tend to ignite physical and emotional reactions in bereaved parents that we would...
The Friendship Bench and World Suicide Prevention Day 2017
This year, World Suicide Prevention Day falls on Sunday, September 10. According to the WSPD website, more than 800,000 people die by suicide, and up to 25 times as many make a suicide attempt, each year. According to statistics provided by the Canadian Association...