How a 'wind phone' in North Phoenix is helping people process grief

PHOENIX - There's a unique phone booth in North Phoenix that is helping people stay connected to lost loved ones.

It's called the ‘wind phone.’ It's located at the New Vision Center for Spiritual Living in North Phoenix. It's meant to help people deal with their grief.

The backstory:

The first known wind phone was created by a Japanese man who was dealing with grief. He set his up on the side of the hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and now, there are hundreds of phones like this all around the world.

Local perspective:

The wind phone can be found inside an old-fashioned British phone booth at the center. The phone inside is not connected to a phone line. And there are no instructions. It’s just a new way to talk through your grief. Say some things you never got to say. Or to say goodbye.

The phone booth sits in the corner of a meditation garden. It’s open to anyone. Talk out loud or to yourself. Whatever works. Something in between prayer and therapy.

"I find, when I use it, how wonderful it is to actually dial it and hear that sound, and and then you just talk, and let your words be carried by the wind," said Senior Minister Karin Einhaus of the New Vision Center for Spiritual Living.

Dig deeper:

Inside the booth, a simple invitation: step in, take your time, and phone it in: your hopes and fears, cherished memories and painful regrets, or something more simple.

When Sherri Coady wants to talk to her mother, father or brother, she sometimes stops by the "wind phone" and dials their old numbers, just like she did when they were alive.

"I always lived far away from my family, so phone calls were the norm," Coady said. "This idea, going through that time when I was grieving and missing them, just felt so natural," said Coady. "There've been things I want to share with them, about their grandchildren that they didn’t get to experience on the side in human form. I do get emotional about that, but they’re also their legacy, and so I just wanna let them know what’s going on."

What they're saying:

"I hope they leave a little lighter, a little bit more connected and a little bit with a feeling that they’re not alone in the world," Einhaus said.

"Just having that phone in my hand and that, you know start of the conversation the way it always was, just feels so comforting to me," Coady said.