Canadian social worker does nationwide tour listening to people for free. Here's what they reveal.

There are times in which many people feel alone and isolated. They might need a friend or family member, but, for whatever reason, they can't approach them or don’t feel like they have such a connection. Others know they need a therapist to talk to them about their issues, but they can't afford one. While he’s a stranger and not a licensed counsellor, if you walk past Paul Jenkinson’s table, you can grab a seat and he’ll listen to whatever you want to talk about free of charge.

A retired social worker based in Nova Scotia, Canada, Jenkinson has decided to spend his golden years going from town to town nationwide with a folding table, two chairs, and a sandwich board sign that says, “You are not alone. I will listen.” So far, Jenkinson has graciously provided time to sit across from strangers who are willing to just speak their traumas, fears, concerns, and problems to him as he sips his coffee.

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I'm there as a fellow human to make connections," Jenkinson told CBC Radio. "I just create that safe space for them, a little bit like the stranger on the airplane that you're never going to see again."

While not an accredited psychiatrist or counselor, Jenkinson spent years as a registered social worker and a spokesperson for Advocates for Care of the Elderly, an organization that helps improve the conditions of long-term care facilities for seniors. Professions aside, he can empathize and sympathize with many people, given that in his 70 years of life he had to go through a divorce, physical pain issues, and even the death of a child. While Jenkinson draws his experience through the lens of Christian and Buddhist teachings, he’s not around to give advice. He wants to just offer an ear to just listen for as long as you want on any topic you choose, free of charge.

“I don’t give advice. I might help them sort through a couple of thoughts—the goal that they feel they were affirmed, not judged or shamed,” he explained to the Chronicle Herald. "You don't have to worry, you're not gonna see me on the street the next day."

While respecting the privacy of the individuals that have taken Jenkinson up on his offer, he shared that he spoke to a “cornucopia of beautiful people” that included students, people struggling with drug addiction, Indigenous people, parents, and others who find themselves lost. But it’s not always doom and gloom; many people have shared with Jenkinson their intention to volunteer as public servants and the futures they want to build. In any case, no matter the initial topic, Jenkinson is pleased to see most people walking away from him feeling “lighter” after they speak to him.

So, where will Jenkinson appear next? Well, the thing is that even he doesn’t know. He says he has no solidified plans for his tour by design and opts to live a transient lifestyle, staying at the places he’s invited to visit and moving on to the next spot per invitation.

“It is a circuitous journey,” he said. “I am not going someplace. I am just going to the next invitation. Every person is important, so it doesn’t matter where I put my table.”

If you wish to support Jenkinson, he does accept donations on GoFundMe and Patreon, mostly to provide gas money as he lives primarily off of his pension.

If you cannot afford a therapist, need someone to talk to, and cannot wait for Jenkinson to appear in your community, there are other options available. Organizations such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the National Institute of Mental Health can direct you to low-to-no cost resources. You can also text a volunteer Crisis Counselor who can listen to your troubles through your fingertips and provide you with resources to help you. Whether it’s Jenkinson or a professional, there are people out there willing to listen to you and provide the help you need.