A bright, yellow bench with a mission of hope was unveiled Thursday, March 11, at Berry Hill Park in Searcy. Josh\u2019s Benches For Awareness is a non-profit for suicide prevention and awareness. Cindy Nadelbach, the founder of Josh\u2019s Benches, lost her son Josh to suicide in 2018. Nadelbach took her loss as an opportunity to spread awareness and help those who struggle with suicide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Josh was originally from Searcy, which inspired Nadelbach to have a piece of Josh remembered in his town. Nadelbach reached out to the Searcy Parks and Recreation Foundation to place one of the yellow benches in Searcy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know if [the message] was real or not so I asked my office manager to contact them,\u201d Director of Searcy Parks and Recreation Department Harry Miller said. \u201cCome to find out, it\u2019s a thousand-dollar bench they want to donate to us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each yellow bench is made of recycled plastic boards and costs almost $1,000. The bench for Berry Hill Park was paid for completely through donations from the non-profit. Josh\u2019s Benches provides the shipping, installation and plan for unveiling the bench at each location. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe chose this place because Josh is from Searcy,\u201d founder Cindy Nadelbach said. \u201cWe just hope this helps.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As of March 19, Josh\u2019s Benches has 40 locations across the country, indoors and outside. The non-profit has pre-approved locations for more \u201cAwareness Benches\u201d but still needs the funding. Josh\u2019s Benches created \u201cSponsor a Bench,\u201d allowing people to donate towards placing a bench at their own property or another pre-approved location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe hope more people will donate and cause more benches to be placed,\u201d Searcy Parks and Recreation Department Office Manager Barbra Hubach said. \u201cI keep thinking universities or high schools \u2014 some place like that where it can be for anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anyone who passes by one of the yellow Josh\u2019s Benches can see the National Suicide Precention Lifeline phone number (800-273-8255). The Awareness Bench is meant to spread awareness and give people who are struggling a place to sit and talk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re hoping it raises awareness and gets the phone number out there,\u201d Miller said. \u201cWe hope it saves lives.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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