Huron Hospice has installed a wind phone at Bender House. The phone is expected to help grieving people get in touch with their feelings of loss.
The idea was first developed ten years ago in Japan by a man who needed to talk with his cancerous cousin. Since then, phones have popped up worldwide and are now catching on in Canada. The antique dial phone allows visitors to make moments matter by enabling people to express their feelings.
“We will all experience loss, and when it happens, we grieve. When we grieve, we do so in different ways. Some people accept the loss and grieve privately. For others, it is not so simple. They may sweep it 'under the carpet.' When loss gets swept under the carpet, it can lead to long-term complications. For some of us, part of the grieving process is saying the things we wished we had said when that person was alive” said Sally Brodie, the Huron Hospice Coordinator of Loss and Grief. She went on to say, "unchecked grief can be like a heavy backpack of rocks that weigh us down. It is essential to begin unpacking the rocks and taking a load off our shoulders. Talking into the wind phone can be an important first step in unpacking the grief. When we can talk about grief, it's like lifting the weight, and there is space for something great."
Huron Hospice volunteers set up the phone as an outlet for grief. Visitors can express their feelings and feel more connected with loved ones. Last year, 150 youth and adults took part in the grief program. Over 100 families took part in the home visits and respite, and 40 people and their families received hospice palliative care at Huron Hospice Bender House.
The wind phone at Huron Hospice is beside the Tranquility Trail in the Memorial Forest. The five-acre forest is managed by a professional arborist and volunteers and is filled with trees and flowers indigenous to Huron County.
“Having the phone located on the Tranquility Trail is all part of making moments matter at Huron Hospice,” added Brodie.
