INDIANAPOLIS, IN — It’s easy to get lost in the crowd of a city and its often difficult getting people to stop and connect in a post-pandemic world.
Inside Indy previously interviewed with Maven Space to talk about building new friendships as an adult.
This week, we take a look at another outlet for meeting new people and making new friends in Indy.
“It’s like people are all craving some sort of connection,” said Indy resident, Jalen Roseberry. “It is really hard to meet new people, get out there, do new things.”
Roseberry said she knows adult friendships are different and it’s motivating her to try something new.
“In Kindergarten class it was hey you’re cool, I’m cool, I like this toy, so do you,” Roseberry said. “Unfortunately, we’ve veered far-far away from that time, but being able to just walk up to somebody, have a smile, and know that you all have something in common.”
For the first time, she’s joining a walking club called Hot Walk Indy. Casey Springer founded the group on Instagram, and now it’s blowing up.
“I was really going through a tough time post pandemic,” said Springer. “So, I really wanted to create my own community.”
The group has grown from a dozen participants to nearly a hundred. Ladies, men, and four-legged friends are all welcome and they show up with smiles, steps, and waves.
“My number one mission is for people to feel welcomed. To feel like they belong. They can just show up as their true selves,” said Springer.
So why walking?
“Walking is simple and a lot of times it’s not the destination. It’s about who you’re connecting with on that walk,” Springer said.
It’s all about making new friends, while exploring new sights and sounds in Indy.
“Just going to a new place in the city. You don’t even have to walk or talk with us. You can just be in that community and we’re 100% fine with that,” said Springer.
Researchers studied over 308,000 people and they found those with no friends or poor-quality friendships are twice as likely to die prematurely, which is worse than the effects of smoking twenty cigarettes per day.
Beating the odds can start with a simple “hello”.
“Amazing how you meet people that live down the street from you and that you had no clue for all these years or ones that live across town that come forty minutes just to meet new friends,” Hot Walk Indy participant, Sarah Myers said.
Experts say friendships build empathy, a stronger immune system, and resilience.
“Confidence right. That’s what all this group’s about is uplifting you, to realize that you have confidence and you’re an amazing human being,” said Myers.
All it takes is stepping out of your comfort zone and showing up.
“To have a group of people that are already welcoming and invested and happy to be there with you, it’s just like jump right in and ready to go,” said Roseberry.
A simple conversations and walk is creating a sense of belonging in the community.
"Just go out there, meet someone new and I promise it’s probably going to be a lot easier and a lot more fun than you thought it would be,” Roseberry said.
Recently Hot Walk Indy added co-ed walks. They learned it’s not just girls trying to connect, but their partners too.
The next hot walk is scheduled for September 21st. If you want more information on Hot Walk Indy, we have a link.
