Host an Empty Chairs

If you’re ready to make a difference in your local area hosting Empty Chairs might be for you!

Before hosting, we’ll make sure you have the information and guidance you need to understand the role and run your Empty Chairs responsibly.

Apply to become a host

Hosting is simple. You don’t need to be a counsellor, an expert in mental health or the loudest person in the room.

You’re there to turn up, be easy to find, welcome whoever joins you and give people a comfortable space to connect with others.

It’s a simple commitment that can make a big difference to someone who has decided to walk through the door.

At its heart, hosting an Empty Chairs event looks like:

• Sign up via the hosting form here
• One of the Empty Chairs team will get in touch - keep an eye on your spam or junk folder, just in case.
• Let the Empty Chairs team know the full details of the event you’d like to host.
• Turn up at the advertised venue at the advertised time.
• Wear orange so people can find you.
• Stay at the table for at least one hour, even if nobody has arrived yet.
• If someone joins you, welcome them and let the conversation happen naturally.

That’s really the heart of it.

There’s no programme to deliver, no activity to run and no particular subject you need to talk about.

You’re simply making sure that when somebody turns up looking for an Empty Chairs table, somebody is there to welcome them.

Your main job is to be kind and to make the table easy to find and easy to join.

That means:

• Arriving when you said you would
• Wear orange so attendees can recognise you
• Welcoming anyone who approaches
• Help people feel included
• Allowing conversation to happen naturally
• Respecting people’s boundaries
• Stay at the table for at least one hour.

You don’t need to turn the event into anything more complicated than that.

An Empty Chairs table should feel like a normal group of people sitting down together - because that’s exactly what it is.

For you, it might just be someone walking over to the table.

For them, it might have taken a lot more courage.

They may have come on their own. They may have spent ten minutes outside deciding whether to come in. They may not know what they’re supposed to say when they reach you.

You don’t need a script.

A simple:

“Hi, I’m X. Are you here for Empty Chairs? Grab a seat.”

Is enough.

You can introduce yourself, ask their name and bring them into whatever conversation is already happening.

If they’re quiet at first, that’s fine too.

Your job isn’t to get somebody talking. It’s to make it clear that they’re welcome to be there.

You do not need to be:

• a therapist
• a counsellor
• a mental-health professional
• a public speaker
• an expert at running groups
• especially outgoing

What matters much more is that you turn up when you say you will, listen to people, treat them with kindness and notice when somebody might need bringing into the conversation.

You don’t need to have experienced loneliness or mental-health difficulties yourself.

There isn’t a particular type of person who makes a good host.

Anything.

You don’t need to arrive with discussion questions or a list of conversation starters.

People might talk about:

• work
• the local area
• holidays
• what they’ve been doing that week
• whatever happens to come up
• their mental health
• their personal life

Some conversations will be fun. Others might be more serious.

You can help keep the conversation moving and make sure nobody is being left out, but you don’t need to dominate it.

And if there’s a bit of silence?

That’s okay.

You don’t need to fill every second.

It can happen.

Some Empty Chairs events might have several attendees. Others might have one. Occasionally, nobody might join you at all.

That doesn’t mean you’ve done anything wrong.

The important thing is that you stay at the advertised table for at least one hour, even if nobody has arrived.

Someone might be running late.

Someone might walk past the table a few times before deciding whether to approach.

Someone might be sitting outside working up the confidence to come in.

If the event says you’ll be there, you need to be there.

Then the event might simply be the two of you having a conversation.

That’s completely fine.

Sit down. Have a chat.

Empty Chairs isn’t about the number of chairs filled. Its about creating the space so that anyone who needs it has somewhere to go.

Hosting is completely flexible. You can host as much or as little as you like. You’ll be able to pick your own venue to host in at a time that suits you.

But once you put an event in the calendar and people can see that it’s happening, your commitment matters.

Someone may plan their day around attending.

They may travel to the venue.

They may have been thinking about coming for days before finally deciding to give it a go.

That’s why one of the most important parts of being an Empty Chairs host is simply turning up when you say you will.

Only commit to events you genuinely expect to be able to attend.

Empty Chairs is deliberately informal, but there are still some important boundaries.

We’ll only ever share your first name.

We also encourage hosts not to exchange private personal contact details.

If somebody wants to come back, reconnect or see people they’ve met before, that should happen through future public Empty Chairs events.

You’re there as an Empty Chairs volunteer - not as somebody’s personal counsellor or support worker.

These boundaries help keep Empty Chairs simple and help protect both hosts and attendees.

Sometimes people may talk about things they’re finding difficult.

Your responsibililty is to listen, be kind and let somebody talk without feeling like you need to have the perfect response. You are not expected to diagnose somebody, counsel them, solve their problems or take responsibility for their wellbeing.

Empty Chairs is not therapy, counselling or a crisis service.

If somebody needs professional, specialist or crisis support, follow Empty Chairs guidance and help signpost them towards appropriate support.

Hosting Empty Chairs is simple, but it matters.

You aren’t signing up to become a counsellor or take responsibility for anybody else’s life.

You’re agreeing to be the person who is there when someone decides to take an Empty Chair.

You don’t need to have all the answers.

You just need to be willing to turn up, wear orange, welcome whoever walks through the door and give them somewhere to sit.

If that sounds like something you’d be comfortable doing, we’d love to hear from you.

Apply to become a host