Arizona State friendship bench connects generations to ease loneliness

PHOENIX (AZFamily)—In a world of technology and social media, we’ve never been more connected to others. However, recent studies have shown that we’ve also never been more lonely.

According to a recent report from the Department of Health and Human Services, about half of U.S. adults reported experiencing measurable levels of loneliness.

However, a new initiative at Arizona State University is working to change that through its friendship bench, and that is Something Good.

The bench is meant to encourage younger and older folks just to sit and talk to one another about anything.

One of the participants is ASU alumna Pencie Culiver, who sits on the bench every Tuesday with a sign that says, “I’m all ears.”

She invited anyone to sit with her, whether for a few minutes or half an hour.

“I have really had some interesting questions, people sit down for half an hour, other people two minutes, so a big variety,” said Culiver. “I believe that I have heard most of anything, it also has taught me, kids really are lonely and they don’t have somebody to divulge things they don’t even want to divulge to their roommate or their classmate and also the complications of education we did not have when we went to ASU a long, long time ago.”

The ASU Friendship Bench Program started this past fall semester with about a dozen residents of Mirabella, a university-based retirement community located on the college campus.

Thank you to Culiver, ASU and all the participants for connecting with others and making the world a little less lonely.

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