Solar-Powered 'Beacon' Bench Unveiled in Mote Park to Support Mental Health

This article discusses suicide and suicide prevention. A new bench in Mote Park lights up after dark and carries QR codes linking straight to mental health support - part of a growing county-wide network aimed at making help easier to find for anyone struggling. It was officially opened this month by the Mayor of Maidstone, Councillor Brian Clark, near the park's North Entrance off Ashford Road, close to the Water Sports Centre and the waterfall.

The bench was fitted and donated by Legend on the Bench, a suicide prevention charity founded by Michelle Hazard in memory of her son, Jay Lee Mead. Her brother, former Tottenham Hotspur player Micky Hazard, is an ambassador for the charity, which has now installed 164 of the solar-powered benches across the UK and Ireland - 21 of them in Kent.

The Mote Park bench was funded by the East Kent Spurs Official Supporters Club, inspired by Micky Hazard's connection to the charity. What began as a football supporters' group has grown into one of the county's most active grassroots community organisations, with fourteen of Kent's twenty-one benches funded through its fundraising - the largest single contribution to the county's network. "We wanted to create something visible, permanent and meaningful within our communities," said the club's secretary, Maria Howdon. "The benches send a simple message: support is available and nobody should feel they have to face difficult times alone."

Research has repeatedly linked time spent in green space to lower rates of anxiety, depression and chronic stress, which is part of the thinking behind siting the benches in parks rather than, say, community centres - somewhere people already go to clear their heads, rather than somewhere they'd have to seek out. Councillor David Naghi, Maidstone Borough Council's Cabinet Member for Community Cohesion and Safety, said the installation was "a reminder that no one should struggle in silence and if you need help, support is always there."

Anyone needing urgent mental health support can call NHS 111 and select the mental health option, or contact their local mental health support service. Source: Maidstone Borough Council