Ambassador Spotlight: ‘Working together to tackle loneliness this Winter’
n.b – At the time of writing, Sarah was serving in her role at Clarion Housing Group. Working together to tackle loneliness this Winter By…
Loneliness: What’s Race got to do with it?
By Harry Hobson, Director at Neighbourly Lab Factors that cause people to experience loneliness. At Neighbourly Lab we’re fascinated (obsessed even) by the factors that…
New Narratives: ‘Isolated Children Become Lonely Adults’
Through ‘New Narratives’, we’ll explore the multi-faceted nature of loneliness by sharing insights and stories from as many perspectives as possible, not only to help…
Digital Interventions for Reducing Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults
A few weeks ago, we shared a blog post on the World Health Organisation (WHO) Evidence and Gap Map documenting the prevalence of evidence around…
New Narratives: ‘Overcoming Loneliness as a Freelance Designer’
Here at the Tackling Loneliness Hub, we believe in the power of community and conversation. Through ‘New Narratives’, we’ll explore the multi-faceted nature of loneliness…
Guest Blog: Intergenerational England presents “Unravelling The Threads of Loneliness”
Here at the Tackling Loneliness Hub, we believe in the power of community and conversation. We’re dedicated to sharing insights and stories that can help…
Autumn can be a lonely time for young people
By Faith Ogala, Laura Markey and Andrea Wigfield Centre for Loneliness Studies/Campaign to End Loneliness, Sheffield Hallam University As autumn approaches, a new wave of…
Evidence-based Interventions for Reducing Social Isolation and Loneliness
Loneliness or social isolation does not discriminate. Affecting people across all life stages and regions, it’s been shown to be linked to serious health outcomes…
Welcome Back to the Hub
Dear Hub Members, Thank you for being an essential part of our growing community which has reached nearly 1,000 members of professionals in research and…
DCMS 2024 Campaign to Tackle Loneliness
Loneliness. It’s a part of life. Let’s talk about it Launching on 28th February 2024, DCMS ran a new six week communications campaign to tackle…
Tackling Loneliness Inter-Ministerial Group
In 2018, the strategy for tackling loneliness: A Connected Society launched. The strategy contained three objectives that continue to guide DCMS’s work: To reduce…
Kirklees Council: The role of Wellbeing Champions in addressing workplace loneliness
Lynne Haycock and Helen Gilchrist highlight the wellbeing initiatives taking place within Kirklees Council to foster connection and address workplace loneliness. Does this resonate with…
The role of heritage in building social connection: How funding has strengthened communities
Liz Ellis, Policy Project Manager at the National Lottery Heritage Fund, highlights funding opportunities and underscores the importance of heritage projects as a means of…
How to apply for funding
Tackling Loneliness Hub members have recently been sharing their expertise and insights on applying for funding. Their wealth of knowledge has been compiled into this…
Developing practice-based case studies
We recently held a member co-working session to discuss practice-based case studies. The session, led by Ingrid Abreu Scherer (What Works Wellbeing) and Dr. Helen…
Building stronger, more connected rural communities
Victoria Russell, Project Manager at charity Community First Yorkshire, shares her thoughts on rural loneliness and different approaches that can make a difference to people’s…
Addressing loneliness among women from South Asian communities in Keighley
We heard from Diane and Shaida from Highfield Community Association about two projects helping to address loneliness among older women from South Asian communities in…
Making a difference in the lives of older LGBT+ people
Sam Higgins, EDIB Officer at Re-engage, shares how the charity launched a telephone befriending service for LGBT+ older people that has diversity, belonging and inclusion…
Good Practice Mentors: Reflecting on a year of collaboration
Jessica Duffy explores a year of impactful collaboration between the Good Practice Mentor (GPM) team and the Tackling Loneliness Hub in their mission to address…
Getting started with loneliness evaluation
Understanding and evaluating the impact of interventions aimed at addressing loneliness can pose a unique set of challenges. In a recent member co-working session, we…
Volunteer recruitment and engagement
Members of the Tackling Loneliness Hub recently came together for a co-working session on volunteer management. In this blog post, we have captured the key…
Loneliness and isolation in the visually impaired community
In our latest blog post, Kim Creus from Vision Foundation / Fight For Sight shares their plans to support community-led projects designed with visionally impaired…
Campaigning to tackle the stigma of youth loneliness
The Co-op Foundation has been tackling the stigma of youth loneliness since 2017. Before they stopped promoting their Lonely Not Alone campaign at the end…
Digital inclusion as a means of addresssing loneliness in later life
Age UK is a charity that provide information, advice, and support to older people across the UK. In this blog post, Lauren Coppin from the…
Running focus groups for research and evaluation purposes
Professor Andrea Wigfield (Centre for Loneliness Studies) recently ran a Hub co-working session on how to run focus groups for loneliness research and evaluation purposes.…
Tackling loneliness during Freshers Week
The DCMS Tackling Loneliness team hosted a Hub webinar earlier this week on the government’s ongoing work to address loneliness stigma, as part of the…
Ready Generations: Encouraging intergenerational connections
Ready Generations is a Liverpool based charity working to connect people of all ages. In this blog Sue Egersdorff , Co-Founder of the charity reflects…
Reflections on the tackling loneliness through community transport project
Community transport is a life line for people who are socially isolated and experiencing loneliness. In this blog post, Sean Ray and Nicky Newham discuss…
A strategy for tackling loneliness: An update from DCMS
This blog post explores the work being done across government to address the stigma of loneliness, build the evidence base, and drive a lasting shift…
The APPG on Tackling Loneliness and Connected Communities
The All-Party Parliamentary Group meetings offer an opportunity for MPs across the political divide to come together and hear from individuals and representatives of organisations…
Empowering user voice in addressing loneliness
How can we best harness the views and needs of people experiencing loneliness to help in the scoping, planning and delivery of our work? This…
Carers Leeds: Tackling loneliness among unpaid carers
Carers Leeds is a charity that provides information, advice and support to unpaid adult and parent carers across Leeds. Nikki Pattinson, Team Leader of Carer…
Addressing barriers to participation through outreach communications
Last week we held our first member co-working session on outreach communications. This collaborative and supportive session was facilitated by Hub member Jo Stapleton, Good…
Loneliness and mental health of British National (Overseas) visa holders
Why does loneliness matter to the mental health of British National (Overseas) visa holders? Hub member Alvin Hui, PhD student at The University of Bristol,…
Tackling loneliness through British Sign Language
For Deaf Awareness Week 2023, Robin Ash, Equality and Rights Manager for the British Deaf Association talks about their DCMS-funded project which ran last year…
Loneliness in autistic adults
Dr Kana Umagami, Honarary Research Fellow at UCL, shares insights from her PhD research on loneliness in autistic adults which specifically examined measurement tools and…
Tackling loneliness in the London Borough of Bromley
Helayna Jenkins, Principal Loneliness Champion at London Borough of Bromley, explains how and why they are keeping loneliness high on the agenda. Tackling loneliness in…
Reflections on the monthly networking sessions: A Hub Ambassador perspective
Each month, Hub members have the option to take part in the Coffee Roulette and get to know others over a virtual coffee (or tea)…
Sharing experiences through creative conversations
Celebrating Age Wiltshire is county-wide project delivering culture and heritage events and activities in community settings. In this blog post, Rebecca Seymour, Creative Producer for…
Two Generations: Intergenerational home shares in tackling loneliness
Justin Dewhirst shares what he has learned through volunteering with Two Generations, a scheme which matches people who live alone and have a spare room,…
CAN Connect: From collaboration to success
We spoke with Hub member Julie Gibson on how CAN Connect’s team of Life Connectors and volunteers are helping people to get involved in their…
How waffling can help us to connect
Matt Smith, Director and Founder of the Community Waffle House CIC, highlights the importance of ‘waffling’ and why we all need conversations to connect. The…
Wiltshire Wildlife Trust: Rebuilding connections through nature
Imogen Jackson, Wellbeing Programmes Lead, shares how Wiltshire Wildlife Trust are rebuilding connections through access to local green spaces and nature. Wiltshire Wildlife Trust There…
Loneliness evaluation: Analysis and dissemination
Members of the Tackling Loneliness Hub recently came together for a workshop on analysing and disseminating loneliness evaluation. This blog post summarises the insights shared…
Improving the representation of older people through images
Last month, members of the Tackling Loneliness Hub came together for a workshop on loneliness marketing and campaigning. This session focused on how we can…
How a physical activity programme in Oxfordshire is changing lives
Helen Mariner, Communications Lead at Active Oxfordshire talks about the impact that physical activity programme Move Together is having on tackling loneliness and isolation through…
Tackling loneliness and social isolation in Camden
Camden’s new Health and Wellbeing Strategy identifies community connectedness and friendships as a strategic priority. In this blog post, Hub member Angela Malik, Policy and…
The how, why and where of student loneliness
Professor Richard Phillips reflects on research co-produced with undergraduate and postgraduate students which explores the how, why and where of student loneliness. Student researchers investigated…
Using digital technology to overcome social isolation in people with psychosis
For World Mental Health Day, Hub member Dr Mariana Pinto da Costa speaks about her research supporting people with psychosis through remote volunteering. Introducing the…
Why we evaluate
Jessica Duffy, Hub ambassador and Good Practice Mentor, shares her personal reflections on the evaluation data Leeds Older People’s Forum collects, why they do it…