New Wind phones being installed by Huron Hospice and Huron Shores Hospice provide a unique way to help people grieve. New wind phones have been installed at Geddes Park in Kincardine and in Tiverton at the Walk of Memories in the gazebo, as well as at Bender House in Clinton.
Huron Shores Hospice Founding Director Cheryl Cottrill said the phone will help people connect with loved ones who have passed away.
"It's not hooked up to anything," she explained. "It's just a way for people to be able to go and to grieve the loss of a loved one and send their voice up into the wind to get to their loved one where we you believe that your loved one is after death."
The phone is in a private area, where visitors can sit on a bench and reflect, talk, or listen to the wind.
“The Wind Phone in Geddes Park is a place for grieving individuals to feel a connection with their departed loved ones. It allows people to express their thoughts, regrets, and love, providing a sense of comfort and closure," said Cathy Herbert, Executive Director, Huron Shores Hospice. “After the loss of a loved one I think there's a sense of needing to say things, communicate, and still feel a connection. There is no one right way to grieve the loss of a loved one. We offer group Grief Recovery Method sessions, as well as one-on-one sessions in-person or online, and this is simply another way for people to express their grief.”
"We were happy to support Huron Shores Hospice in the installation of this additional support for people experiencing grief," added Mayor Kenneth Craig. "If a wind phone assists anyone in processing their grief, then the Municipality’s small contribution has been very worthwhile.”
The idea started with a Japanese citizen who lost a cousin, and installed a wind phone in his garden. Itaru Sasaki opened it to the public following the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami that struck in 2011.
"Because my thoughts could not be relayed over a regular phone line, I wanted them to be carried on the wind," said Sasaki.
Replicas of the Wind Phone have been established in numerous countries worldwide. In Canada alone, Wind Phones have been installed in Newfoundland, Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, and at Huron Hospice in Central Huron.
“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. "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."
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.