Empty Chairs founder from Essex hopes to conquer UK with kindness

Dean Perryman, from Hockley, Essex, launched the Empty Chairs project after the suicide of his best friend, Rob Clancey. The concept is simple: reserve an empty chair in a pub and invite anyone who wants a conversation to sit down. Less than 12 months after starting the effort to tackle loneliness, the movement has expanded internationally and Perryman now wants to hold an Empty Chairs event in every UK parliamentary constituency before the first anniversary of Clancey’s death on 21 November. Perryman said the project began gaining traction after a first meetup in Benfleet, Essex, and reached its 1,000th event in July.