Life Unscripted - Stories of Mental Health and Addiction

Wind Phones - A Unique Way to Deal With Grief

Janice Arnoldi

The first "wind phone" was an unconnected telephone booth installed in the back yard by Japan artist Itaru Sasaki in 2010 to help him process the grief of losing his cousin who he had spoken to every day. After the devastating 2011 tsunami, hundreds of people came to his house asking to use the wind phone so he moved it to a public place. The unconnected telephone booth became a space for people to speak with deceased loved ones and has since inspired hundreds of replicas worldwide. 

There are many wind phones in Canada and you can find locations at https://www.mywindphone.com.

Joy Friesen describes the impact on grief.

Go to https://hospiceniagara.ca wind phone locations in Niagara.