City joins forces with local cafes to create Perth’s first ‘Chatty Cafés’
The City of Bayswater will be combatting loneliness with lattes this Mental Health Week, as it joins forces with local cafés to support the ‘Chatty Café’ initiative.
The City of Bayswater will be combatting loneliness with lattes this Mental Health Week, as it joins forces with local cafés to support the ‘Chatty Café’ initiative.
The initiative invites local cafés to designate one table as a ‘Have a chat’ table, which patrons can sit at to signal that they're open to having a chat.
With the help of Chatty Café Australia Managing Director Glenys Reid, the City will launch the initiative from Monday 12 October to help address loneliness and enhance community connection, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, which resulted in many individuals experiencing social isolation.
Local cafés Steam Haus in Maylands and Esprezzo at Hawaiian's Noranda will be the first two cafés supporting the initiative in Perth, which was initially founded three years ago in the UK.
Following its launch, Chatty Cafés will continue as an ongoing initiative in the local community, with the City anticipating more ‘Have a chat’ tables to be added to the list over the coming months.
City of Bayswater Mayor Cr Dan Bull said Chatty Café was a fantastic way to address loneliness and facilitate community connection in a safe, supportive and friendly environment.
“The Covid-19 crisis particularly heightened the risk of loneliness amongst our older residents, and Chatty Cafés is one example of how we can come together to help address loneliness and support the mental wellbeing of our community,” said Cr Bull.
“Whether it’s for five minutes or an hour, a face to face conversation can really brighten your day and I encourage anyone interested in Chatty Café to give it a go. You never know – a chat over a latte may lead you to a great friendship or inspire you to take up a new interesting hobby.”
“As part of the City's Public Health Plan and Age Friendly Strategy, we are committed to supporting initiatives that promote healthy lifestyles for older community members, and the City is proud to launch the Chatty Café program during Mental Health Week.”
As part of Mental Health Week, the City of Bayswater will also be holding the ‘Stress Less Space’ on Thursday 15 October at Hawaiian’s Noranda.
In partnership with Hawaiian’s Noranda and not-for-profit organisation Helping Minds, the ‘Stress Less Space’ will aim to provide community members and retail staff with mental health information, and will provide fun activities that promote positive mental health and wellbeing.
These initiatives support the City's partnership with Act-Belong-Commit, which aims to create activities to promote positive mental health and wellbeing within the local community.
Local cafes owners interested in joining the Chatty Café initiative, can call the City's Community Development team on 08 9270 4107 or visit thechattycafescheme.com/australia.