Most of us know what it feels like to watch someone we care about struggle, and not know what to say. We want to help, but we worry we will say the wrong thing, so sometimes we say nothing at all. The Friendship Bench was built on a different idea: that ordinary people, given the right tools, can do extraordinary things for one another. Ordinary people can learn to sit with others in their hardest moments, and that this simple act can change lives. If you have ever wanted to be that person...

From a single wooden bench in Harare to campuses and communities around the world, the Friendship Bench model has transformed how we think about mental health. Dixon Chibanda’s book, The Friendship Bench: How Fourteen Grandmothers Inspired a Mental Health Revolution, has just won the 2025 OWL Award in the First-Year Experience category, recognizing its impact in shaping conversations about wellbeing and community.

As the world faces increasing crises, access to mental health care has never been more critical. The 2025 World Mental Health Day theme, “Access to Services – Mental Health in Catastrophes and Emergencies,” echoes the need for practical, community-based solutions. The Friendship Bench model, developed in Zimbabwe, now replicated globally, offers an evidence-based approach that brings hope and healing to people through simple, meaningful conversations led by trained community elders.