Fulfilling the promise: how social prescribing can help tackle loneliness

Co-op Foundation and British Red Cross, 2019

This report draws on the practical experience of the British Red Cross and Co-op Foundation in delivering social prescribing services to those experiencing or at risk of loneliness through their Community Connector schemes.

Produced in collaboration with Kaleidoscope Health and Care, the report is the result of deep-dive visits with Community Connectors, expert interviews and workshops with professionals working in service provision, commissioning, primary care, policy and research, and people with personal experience of loneliness.

The report makes ten recommendations to guide social prescribers and other health professionals such as GPs, social workers, health visitors and midwives when people ask for help with loneliness. These recommendations include:

doing more to better understand and identify when people are lonely
offering greater support to providers of social prescribing services and activities
reaching out to and involving communities in different ways to tackle loneliness