A friendship bench has been installed at the Cowichan Campus of VIU.
The yellow bench serves as a reminder about the importance of mental health awareness and aims to spur student to student conversations about it.
Addie Russell, who herself suffers from depression and who lost a brother to suicide, was a driving force behind getting the bench installed on the Cowichan Campus…..
The co-founder of the friendship bench campaign, who lives in Toronto, was in the Valley to unveil the bench.
Sam Fiorella says the bench isn’t intended as a place to sit if you are depressed, but rather, it’s a statement to remind students to talk to their peers about mental health….
The Kiwanis Club of Duncan donated 5,000 dollars towards to the purchase of the bench.
