Free Listening

April 11, 2017 – Anne Lafleur (right) listens to a participant on Free Listening Day, an event organized by Urban Confessional to promote interpersonal connections, in Boston Common, Boston, MA. “Sometime’s it helps,” to be listened to the participant said, “it’s good for the soul.” Photo by Brynne Quinlan.

April 11, 2017 – Riley Hart, a manager of human resource information systems at MIT, holds up a sign reading “free listening” on Free Listening Day, an event organized by Urban Confessional to promote interpersonal connections, in Boston Common, Boston, MA. “I thought people would talk about problems and politics,” said Hart, but it’s more “dreams and hopes.” It was the third Free Listening Day organized by the group that originated in Los Angeles, CA with people across the globe taking part. Photo by Brynne Quinlan.

April 11, 2017 – Katrina Piehler, a wellness coach and massage therapist, goes to shake hands with a participant during Free Listening Day in Boston Common, Boston, MA. Piehler says people have been “really pleased we were doing this.” By participating, Piehler says she’s engaged in “just genuine listening. Just being a space to make people heard.” Photo by Brynne Quinlan.

April 11, 2017 – Nikki Hill, who works in marketing, receives a thumbs up from a passerby during her first time participating in Free Listening Day in Boston Common, Boston, MA. “I look at people differently,” as a result of the experience Hill explained. “The first guy told me he was a caretake for his older mean father. I asked him how do you feel right now? He said he felt like he was going to cry,” Hill said. “As he walked away he wiped away a tear.” Photo by Brynne Quinlan.

April 11, 2017 – Nikki Hill (left) talks with Anne Lafleur (center) and Riley Hart (right) after her first time participating in Free Listening Day, an event organized by Urban Confessional – a group founded in Los Angeles, CA – in Boston Common, Boston, MA. “I made my sign last night,” Hill said. Hill said it gave her the chance to interact with people she normally wouldn’t. “It’s been a life changing 45 minutes,” Hill said. Photo by Brynne Quinlan