You're Invited to a Special Webinar About Friendship Bench DC
Join HelpAge USA on Wednesday, June 18, at 11:00am ET, for a virtual panel exploring how Friendship Bench—an innovative, community-based model started in Zimbabwe—is being adapted to fill critical gaps in mental health care in Washington, DC.
The U.S. is facing a growing mental health crisis that is hitting low-income, Black, and Brown communities especially hard. Friendship Bench DC is a pilot initiative from HelpAge USA—supported by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation—that works to address some of these gaps by training older people, known as “Grandparents,” to provide confidential, free, and one-on-one support in their communities through empathic listening and problem-solving. Modeled after the original Friendship Bench in Zimbabwe pioneered by Dr. Dixon Chibanda, Friendship Bench DC brings benches to safe, trusted community spaces such as schools, churches, and senior wellness centers, where people of all ages can talk openly with a Grandparent without the pressure of advice or judgment.
This panel will share findings from a new pilot study conducted by NEAN Consulting LLC evaluating the feasibility, acceptability, and early impact of implementing the Friendship Bench model in Washington, DC. The discussion will explore what inspired Friendship Bench DC, why it’s working, and what’s next for the program—including its potential as a replicable, community-rooted strategy to address mental health disparities in underserved populations. We’ll also premiere a short video showcasing Friendship Bench DC in action and how the program is empowering older people to build stronger, more connected communities.
Event Speakers:
- Cindy Cox-Roman, President and CEO, HelpAge USA
- Dr. Dixon Chibanda, founder of the Friendship Bench and professor of psychiatry at the University of Zimbabwe and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
- Dr. Delia Houseal, Founder and Principal, NEAN Consulting LLC
Register here.