It has long been recognised that loneliness is a serious social problem. But the message that it has serious health implications is also (at last) beginning to be understood. Local authorities are waking up to the fact that chronic loneliness is a ticking time bomb in their communities, and the only way to address it…
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Monthly Archives: May 2013

Can new housing models help tackle loneliness in older age?
A think-piece published this week by Hanover Housing and Demos asks a long-debated question: are age-specific housing developments a good thing, or do they foster isolation and discrimination? The report explores the question using answers from 34 in-depth interviews with sector experts and people in “mainstream” housing, co-housing, home-sharing and retirement communities. It concludes that…
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Eurovision? Eurosceptic? More like Euronolongerlonely…
Depending on your appetite for 80s powerballad stars (Bonnie Tyler), you might think the UK has real Eurovision hopes this weekend. Or, you may have recently voted UKIP. When tackling isolation and loneliness is the issue, the UK is among the leading lights of Europe in tackling loneliness through partnership, campaigning and creating change in the corridors…
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Baby boomers: stay in touch?
“More people will reach their 65th birthday in the UK this year than at any other point in history.” So starts the Mental Health Foundation’s latest report, Getting On…with life, which looks at how our baby boomer generation can maintain good mental health as they age. Those born between 1946 and 1955 are a unique…
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Advice on isolation and loneliness for local authorities bidding for BLF Ageing Better funding
100 local authorities in England have been invited to apply to the Big Lottery Fund’s Ageing Better (social isolation) programme by 17 May with an Expression of Interest (EOI). Many of the sections of the EOI require a summary of quite detailed knowledge from your own area. We have compiled relevant content from our website,…
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