StarTribune: Something on your mind? Volunteer Twin Cities group will listen without judgment
Sidewalk Talk Twin Cities brings a nonjudgmental ear to public spaces.
Lisa Mer leads the Twin Cities chapter of Sidewalk Talk, which offers free listening sessions.
By Rachel Hutton Star Tribune
On a Sunday morning in early June, Lisa Mer stood in the middle of Lyndale Avenue South in Minneapolis, holding a sign as she greeted a steady stream of passersby.
Her T-shirt read, “Sidewalk Talk: You Talk, We Listen.” Her sign offered further explanation and reassurance: “Community Listening Project! NO CATCH!” A cluster of portable chairs waited to be filled, and several volunteers stood by, ears at the ready.
“Hi, I’m Lisa,” she said to the next person who walked past. “What’s on your mind?”
Mer, a retired middle school teacher, leads the Twin Cities chapter of Sidewalk Talk, a nonprofit organization that engages volunteers to practice “heart-centered listening” in public places. The group was started by a San Francisco psychotherapist in 2015 and has spread to nearly 50 cities in 12 countries.