Most of us have lost someone who is nice to us, someone whose voice we hear again, with another conversation. And although we understand from a location of logic that it is no longer longing for this connection.
Recently, NL Health Services has installed a windphone on a peaceful path on the country Place Pond Trail in Creston South on the Burin peninsula.
A windphone is a non -connected telephone that is placed in a natural environment outdoors in which people can speak with relatives who have passed on by being able to wear love and loss words to the wind. Share memories or unspoken thoughts or express feelings of grief, longing or hope.
Denika Ward, coordinator of mental health, was inspired to bring the windphone project to the Burin peninsula after experiencing similar installations elsewhere in the province.
She believed that the project reflected the healing of the community in a way that was innovative, accessible and with compassion.
“The windphone offers something deeply personal – an opportunity to mourn and reflect in a safe, natural environment,” she says. “While professional mental health is important, the windphone brings a different kind of healing. Natural -based initiatives such as this can offer calm, peace and a feeling of connection that makes incredibly useful for the loss of people.”
With the financial support of the Burin Peninsula Healthcare Foundation and the active role of the city of Marystown, the project was realized with the installation in Creston South. The city even installed an additional phone on the Walk of Hope Trail in Marystown.
Windphones have something spiritual for those who experience them. When someone who recently lost his mother for me, it is a symbol of a simpler time when the phone in your house was attached to the wall and you simply recorded it and felt the comforting weight of it. The fact that the windphone is not connected is the part of the freedom that enables the caller to imagine this material connection to anywhere and anyone. And that's the beauty of it.
In addition to the windphones, the residents of the Burin peninsula have access to several other support to control the challenges of grief, loss and mental health:
- Consulting services for mental health and addiction, NL health services: 709-279-7900
- Burin Peninsula Healthcare Foundation: 709-891-3456
- Smallwood Crescent Community Center: 709-279-3643
- The Burin Peninsula compassionate friend group: 709-277-1837
You can find more information at: Primary care options – mental health and dependencies.
This story was written by Robyn Lush, specialist in communication and commitment to employees and commitment to NL Health Services in St. John's.