On a bench in Washington, DC, a trained older person, known as a ‘Grandparent' sits beside someone they have never met before. They listen. They ask questions. They help that person discover solutions for themselves. Thousands of miles away, in Zimbabwe, the same conversation has been changing lives for two decades. When Dr. Dixon Chibanda began training 14 grandmothers on wooden park benches in Mbare, Zimbabwe, he could not have known that the same model would one day take root just blocks...

When communities face challenges around mental health, sometimes, the solution is much simpler: creating more spaces where people feel heard. That is the idea at the heart of Friendship Bench. Founded in Zimbabwe in 2006 by Dr. Dixon Chibanda and a group of 14 trusted community grandmothers, Friendship Bench is built on a simple belief: communities already have people who understand them, know their challenges and can offer support when they are given the right skills. Years later, that idea...