consequences of lockdowns during the COVID# pandemic is an increase in loneliness.

In Britain, communities are# trying to combat people's## isolation by introducing so-called# chatty benches and c Special correspondent Malcolm# Brabant reports from Kent.

MALCOLM BRABANT: This bench overlooking# the North Sea has a poignant backstory.## If you sit down here, you're inviting a# conversation, or perhaps making a cry for help.

RACHAEL STONE, Chatty Bench Donor:# My husband took his own life in 2019.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Rachael Stone is Ben's widow.

RACHAEL STONE: And, at the time, there# one after the other who were struggling who# had taken their own lives.

And I wanted to## do something to help, because you feel# a bit helpless in a situation like that.

MALCOLM BRABANT: While left to raise two# small daughters and her older stepson,## Rachael strove to create a legacy for her# husband, who was overwhelmed by depression.## Just in case no one stops to chat, there's# a discreet reminder of a suicide hot line.

RACHAEL STONE: If you're feeling desperate# and you have got somewhere like this,## come and sit tight.

It just takes that one# person to stop a he genuinely had something like this, and it could# have delayed him taking his own MA LCOLM BRABANT: Twenty miles to the south# are sheer drops, where, over the years,## several people have leapt to their deaths.

The# cliffs no longer have such a grim reputation,## thanks in part to a neighborhood# regeneration scheme, including the benches.

I have come to Ramsgate, a seaside town# some 80 miles southeast of London.

This## is a chatty bench.

It's a glorious sunny# day, a real change from the miserable winter## that Britain's having.

People are out and# about.

Let's see if anybody wants to talk.

The sad truth is, I was studiously# ignored, until David Barber turned## up.

He's one of the community leaders# behind this chatty bench project.

DAVID BARBER, Winterstoke Gardens Project:# Life is pretty -- it's pretty dark, isn't it?## It's not exactly a happy place at the moment,# the worl MALCOLM BRABANT: Exacerbated,# Barber says, by an Internet## full of remote opinions that people post,# but rarely DAVID BARBER: Technology hasn't helped.# People walk along with their phones.

They## have got earphones in.

They don't want to# converse.

They don't want to ha contact.

So the art of conversation is# an awful lot less than it used to be.

LORRAINE HUDSON, Aspirant# Artist: I don't want fame.

GARETH COX, Care you have got to let the people see you.

LORRAINE HUDSON: I'd like the DA VID BA LO MALCOLM BRABANT: Among those Hudson and Gareth Cox, who# come to shoot the breeze.

GARETH COX: I think community spirit# has died.

There was a time 20,## 30 years back neighbors spoke to each# other far more.

It doesn't Pa rtly, I think, is the Internet.

People# have all of their needs in the house,## so they don't need to go out and communicate.# They don't really go to pubs as much just isolated everybody.

And it's become the# norm, which is -- it's sad, but we all do it.

LORRAINE HUDSON: Yes.

No, I agree.

Yes.

Everyone's# on their phones.

They're on the computer,## busy working.

So it's nice to have places# like this where you can sit down, just chill.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Given# Britain's inclement climate,## the boom in chatty cafes is outpacing# chatty b Whitstable's Revival cafe offers a# low-key mental health safety net.

DEBORAH HAYLETT, Revival: I think# it is a worrying trend in terms of,## we know the impact of loneliness and isolation# isn' MALCOLM BRABANT: Deborah Haylett# runs the Revival, which Mind,## the mental health nonprofit, established# as an innovative social ente DEBORAH HAYLETT: We are social animals.# That's what we are here for.

We are part## of families.

Part of villages, part of# tribes.

That's who we are.

Research shows## that social interaction is one of the main# ways that you can support your well-being.

FRANCES BURTENSAW, Chatty Cafe# Client: I might have an omelet.

WOMAN: Yes.

MALCOLM BR FRANCES BURTENSAW: If you sit# indoors and you don't talk to## anyone or you're on your own, you go bonkers.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Recent surveys conducted# since the COVID pandemic show a consistent## rise in loneliness.

Overall, one in# three Britons feels lonely.

But the## surprising thing is that people who# are suffering most are young people.

A survey conducted in 2023 revealed that# amongst those aged between 18 to 24,## three out of every five felt alone and isolated.

DEBORAH HAYLETT: I think that that# particularly is to do with COVID.

I## think they had a lot of disruption in school.# They stopp stopped going seeing their friends# outside of school, and it became all## of their education was on screens.

Their# interaction with friends was on An d it's naturally just progressed# that they carried on in that way,## that they have become used to those patterns.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Back along the North Kent coa Rachael Stone decorates her benc RACHAEL STONE: Particularly# coming up to Christmas,## I think people suffer even because you think everyone around you is having# such a lovely time, social media influences.

Having somebody to speak to and just off-load# is so important, because bottling everything up,## it's one of the worst things you can do,# because you're just alone with your thoughts.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Rachael's message is simple:## Don't walk on by.

You might make For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm# Malcolm Brabant in Kent.