Meet Lapinlahti people: Tiina Törö
Have you ever noticed a grey-haired woman sitting in Café Lähde with a sign in front of her that says “Saa istua seuraksi”? (Sit down with me) Tiina Törö is a retired graphic designer and illustrator, who has been an active participant at Lapinlahden Lähde in the past years. Tiina visited Lapinlahti for the first time in a very sad way back in 1969, when she came to the hospital to see her mother. After that, decades passed before the next time she had reason to visit Lapinlahti.
Tiina’s first impressions of Lapinlahti were that it was a beautiful, majestic setting for a mental hospital. Yet when she rented a workroom in Lapinlahti in 2017, she felt like she had come to a completely new place. It was wonderful to see that the place was open to everyone. Around the same time, Tiina started visiting the café during the working day and offered to be a conversation partner to those who wanted to. The activity was related to her logotherapy thesis “Tyhjän tilan lahja” (The gift of empty space). Since then, Tiina has visited cafés once or twice a week, including others than just Café Lähde.
Tiina has long been interested in mental health issues, both professionally and personally. She feels close to people who are “a little wounded in some way”. Tiina feels that “humanity only becomes complete through some kind of suffering. Compassion for both oneself and others grows.”
People have responded positively to Tiina’s “Sit down with me” message almost invariably, but she still feels that she might be moving towards the reputation of being the village idiot with her actions. Tiina’s most touching memory of the encounters was of a sunny and lovely young man she met a couple of years ago. The boy often came with a group from Alvila to have lunch at Café Lähde, and it became a habit for him to exchange a couple words with Tiina. Tiina almost missed him when she hadn’t seen the boy for a while. However, when they met again, the boy greeted her cheerfully: “Tiina, nice to see you!”
Tiina Törö has volunteered in Lapinlahti in many types of activities. For example, she has held relaxation and breathing exercises in small groups, lectured on the same topics and been an exhibition and museum guard. Some of the groups have also been playful, such as the one in Venice house, based on Viennese fairy tales, “Bedtime stories for all ages”. Tiina thinks it’s nice that people in Lapinlahti are encouraged to participate and then given the freedom to plan their own volunteer work.
Tiina sees Lapinlahti’s greatest asset as the wide variety of events held here. Her latest cultural experience was Eero Hämeenniemi’s performance in the auditorium during Valon viikonloppu (weekend of light). Hämeenniemi’s piano improvisations swept her away and allowed her to escape reality for a moment. Tiina hopes and believes that the activities in Lapinlahti could continue as they are. It would be important for Helsinki city to stay as the landlord, so the workspace rentals would stay reasonable.
Lapinlahti area offers both beautiful nature and built environment. Tiina is particularly fascinated by the hollow tree trunks and the gazebo on the cliff in Lapinlahti park. In the summer, the beach is also in heavy use, but she has yet to experience the Lähde sauna. Overall, Tiina feels like Lapinlahti has been quite a gift for her. It would’ve been difficult to foresee it back when she first visited Lapinlahti in 1969.
Original text: Juhana Heikkilä