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…
Demonstrating the value of befriending
Members of the Tackling Loneliness Hub recently came together for a workshop on how befriending projects can demonstrate and measure impact. This blog post provides…
Sharing people’s lived experience through participatory arts
El Smithies, Relationship Manager at participatory arts organisation Made by Mortals, explains how they are building a community of creative citizens to bring about change.…
Loneliness in life stories by Chinese older migrants in the UK: A linguistics ethnography
Olivia (Xuechun) Xiang is a sociolinguistic PhD candidate at Queen Mary University of London. In this blog post, she introduces her research on how elderly…
Let’s Talk About Loss and the loneliness of being bereaved young
Hub member Beth French was 20 when her mum died. She set up Let’s Talk About Loss, a UK-wide charity supporting young grievers aged 18…
Loneliness evaluation: Design and data gathering
Members of the Tackling Loneliness Hub recently came together for a workshop on loneliness evaluation design and data gathering, the first in a two-part workshop…
Time to Care: Sky’s befriending programme
Anna Cook, Managing Director of Service at Sky, shares insights into Sky’s commitment to tackling loneliness through their Time to Care programme, focusing on their…
Addressing loneliness in the workplace
Earlier this month, members of the Tackling Loneliness Hub came together for a workshop on Addressing Loneliness in the Workplace. This blog provides a brief…
The Tackling Loneliness Collaborative in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire
Kirsty Veitch-Sorsby is the Lead for the Tackling Loneliness Collaborative (TLC) – Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. Here she tells us about what they do and the exciting…
The 32 steps to togetherness movement
What can we do to strengthen community cohesion? For Loneliness Awareness Week, we spoke with Lucy Walmsley, Senior Associate at Civil Society Consulting CIC, on…
Loneliness can be useful, but only if we target our response to it properly
Harry Hobson, Founder and Director of the Neighbourly Lab, shares findings from the Reconceptualising Loneliness in London report and how we can effectively target our…
Reflections on loneliness: The Age UK perspective
We spoke with Hannah Pearce, outgoing Head of External Affairs at Age UK, on what she learned from representing the issues facing older people during…
Learnings on youth loneliness from the Great Winter Get Together
Su Moore, Chief Executive of the Jo Cox Foundation, shares how the Great Winter Get Together shone a light on the issue of youth loneliness. …
Why newly-arrived refugees need immediate support for loneliness
We hear from Tim Leech, Chief Executive at WaveLength, who explains why immediate support for newly-arrived refugees can provide the necessary means to connect. A…
Tackling loneliness the digital champion way
Emma Weston OBE, Chief Executive of Digital Unite discusses the peer-to-peer model of providing digital skills support and how it is effective in reducing the…
Sport and Recreation Alliance: Making connections through sport
Lisa Wainwright MBE, CEO of Sport and Recreation Alliance, shares insights on the value of sport and how attending dance classes can help people to…
The role of arts and culture in helping to reduce loneliness
Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair of Arts Council England, discusses the role that creativity and culture can play in helping to reduce loneliness. It is almost…
Northumberland’s hybrid approach to tackling loneliness and social isolation
Vanessa Easton, Assets and Community Engagement Manager at Northumberland Communities Together, discusses how Northumberland County Council are adapting their services in a hybrid way to…
ACS Wellbeing Guide: Learnings on loneliness
Steve Dowling (Association of Convenience Stores) explains how the ACS Wellbeing Guide is helping people running and working in local shops to flourish in the…
Podcasts on loneliness
Members from the Tackling Loneliness Hub have been sharing recommendations for podcasts about loneliness that have made us stop, think, and feel more connected. Whether…
Sharing the legacy and learning of Ageing Better in Camden
Annabel Collins, Programme Manager at Ageing Better in Camden and Rob Francis, Associate Director at Traverse share an evaluation of the Ageing Better in Camden…
Bee Together: Reducing loneliness and social isolation in older people with learning disabilities
Hub member Jessica Duffy shares learnings from Bee Together, a project which aimed to find creative ways of combatting feelings of loneliness and social isolation…
The lonely bookshelf: Book recommendations from the Hub community
Members of the Tackling Loneliness Hub have been sharing recommendations for books which are themed around loneliness. Are you looking for a book which offers…
Learning from the Building Connections Fund
Thomas Abrams, Senior Consultant at NPC, shares some good practice insights from the Building Connections Fund, with a particular focus on complementing online delivery with…
How libraries help the tackling loneliness agenda
Libraries are at the heart of our communities. We heard from Carol Stump of Kirklees Council and Libraries Connected about how libraries bring people together…
Addressing loneliness for entry-level employees
Tristram Hooley, Chief Research Officer with the Institute of Student Employers, tells us why the best inductions for new staff include actions that help prevent…
Get involved in the Care Leaver Covenant
Baroness Barran served as the Minister for Civil Society for the UK Government from 2019 to 2021. In this role she was responsible for policy…
Why organisations must understand loneliness and ageing
Heather Fraser, Global Life Sciences & Healthcare Lead at IBM Institute for Business Value, talks to us about the role organisations play in tackling loneliness.…
Loneliness: How far have we come?
Paul Cann, Co-Founder of the Campaign to End Loneliness, explains the context of the work done so far to tackle loneliness and to reiterate why…
Getting started: Our recommended reading list
Research, policy, and practice helps to shape our understanding of loneliness and its impact on health and society. There are a range of resources to develop…
