– Then it’s an opportunity to say hello and start a conversation, so maybe you get a new perspective on life or maybe a new friend, says the initiator Anna Ekström, head of unit Youth Support and Intervention, at Strängnäs municipality.
Putting out yellow benches is not something that the municipality has invented, but exists around the world and started in Canada 2015. The benches are part of the work to promote mental well-being.
“We need to care”
– The conversation can be very, very valuable. I think we need to care about each other to feel good, says Anna Ekström.
Strängnäs resident Sinikka Söderlund thinks it’s a good idea and wouldn’t be a stranger to sitting on a bench.
– I could imagine that and you should probably start by talking about weather and wind like the Swedes do, she says.
The benches are in carefully selected places.
– We have chosen places where there are nature experiences so it can also be a conversation with oneself, a time for reflection, says Anna Ekström.