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The Campaign to End Loneliness Continues
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As you may have seen on our website, or seen on social media, the Campaign to End Loneliness is now back and running under new management.
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We have an entirely new team, run by co-directors Prof. Andrea Wigfield, and Associate Prof. Antonia Ypsilanti at the Centre for Loneliness Studies at Sheffield Hallam University.
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We hope to continue the excellent work of the previous team, and this newsletter will form the first of a regular series of monthly editions providing information about blogs we’re following, articles we’ve read, and upcoming events we’ve heard about, all aimed at continuing our aim to raise awareness about loneliness and reduce its adverse implications.
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As we mentioned in our social media posts (our links can be found at the bottom!), the Programme Advisory Group which previously guided the Campaign is being replaced with a programme Advisory Board and a PPIE group (Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement) of people with lived experience of loneliness.
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If you’re interested in being part of this, then please contact us by emailing us at info@campaigntoendloneliness.org.uk
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We are anticipating the new management structure to be in place after the summer.
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What we are thinking about
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Loneliness Awareness Week is June 10th to 16th this year. The site above gives a map of lots of events you can join, or you can even host an event for others. These events provide a fantastic opportunity to create connections, find activities to enjoy with like-minded people, and help in the fight against loneliness.
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If you’ve not seen it until now, the site also gives useful information in how to help with feelings of loneliness.
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The Good Practice Mentor programme is an innovative project that brings together legacy, learning and resources from Ageing Better, a seven year Test and Learn project that worked to reduce social isolation and loneliness in people aged over 50, and engaged more than 150,000 people in over 366 projects.
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The Good Practice Mentor team works with organisations who want to increase their engagement and support of older citizens in the community. Knowledge and resources are shared to help organisations build skills and confidence, create new connections, influence decision makers and drive system change. The team want to support organisations’ journeys to find and highlight the voices of older people in the community, creating the right environment for connection building and the development of robust, citizen led networks.
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Click below for an ongoing programme of free online sessions.
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Loneliness can affect people of all ages, and a collaboration between researchers at UCL, the University of Manchester, the National Academy for Social Prescribing and the Social Prescribing Youth Network aims to tackle loneliness in children aged 9-13.
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Full details of the project can be found above.
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The Guardian released an article which discusses researchers use of AI to help against loneliness. Robotics researchers from the University of Sheffield explain that AI could give opportunities for “reciprocal social interactions”. How exactly this could be used is still up for debate, and it’s likely that meaningful relationships formed through useful activities such as those highlighted in Loneliness Awareness Week will be more beneficial in the long term. However, continued research into this application of AI could help address the needs of those experiencing until they’re able to engage in such activities.
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Loneliness Around the Globe
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In this section we will provide regular updated of activities and events taking place around the world on loneliness and social connection. The United Nations has declared that “Social isolation and loneliness are recognised as a priority public health problem and policy issue across all age groups” and together with the WHO have dedicated resources for this purpose.
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On our reading list
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‘Loneliness for Dummies’ written by Andrea Wigfield, Campaign to End Loneliness Co-Director has just recently been published. The book helps readers understand loneliness and how to take steps to make meaningful connections to others, to places and spaces, and to themselves. It is useful for individuals who feel lonely, to service providers, employers and teachers who might want to help others combat loneliness. It provides information on how to assess loneliness, why people feel lonely, and step-by-step actions that can be taken. There are case studies throughout the book of people who have overcome loneliness.
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You can also currently get a 35% discount by following the link below and entering the code SHU35
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This study gives an interesting perspective on how green spaces can help reduce loneliness in middle- to older-age. The study samples a cohort in China, but its findings could be useful in informing policies to ensure individuals have access to green space, which could be an important factor in facilitating social interactions.
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In contrast to suggestions in a post above, some recent research has found that whilst AI such as ChatGPT might be seen as a useful tool for students, this article gives an interesting perspective into feelings of loneliness in students using the chatbot for social support as opposed to a human. Students that used the chatbot frequently experienced increased social support, however those that viewed chatbots as providing a greater level of social support than humans felt less socially supported generally. This might again highlight the importance of human social connections in the longer term.
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This study introduces a new way to measure loneliness, and considers ways in which the experience of lonely people can be linked with measures of depression and anxiety, and how loneliness can be viewed from a cognitive perspective.
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Dates for your diary
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10th – 16th June – Various locations
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From the website: “This year's theme, Random Acts of Connection, encourages everyone to increase those simple, everyday moments of connection which help us feel happier and less lonely. Get involved by hosting or joining an event on the Connection Map, learning about loneliness or making your own #RandomActsOfConnection!”
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Here at Sheffield Hallam University the Campaign has joined forces with the Centre for Loneliness Studies to hold a series of events on Campus to help raise awareness about loneliness amongst university staff and students and members of the public. The events are taking place between 10am and 2pm Monday 10th to Friday 14th in Owen Building on SHU’s City Campus. If you’re in the area please join us in activities to raise awareness of loneliness, have conversations, play games, participate in artwork, see our exhibition, and interact with a robot. You’ll have the chance to see the innovative research being conducted at The Centre for Loneliness and chat with SHU researchers and professors who specialise in loneliness research to understand better how to tackle loneliness.
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Professor Andrea Wigfield has just published a book ‘Loneliness for Dummies’ you will be able to chat to her about the book and find out about some simple tips on how to feel less lonely.
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13th June - 12:00 - 13:00 - Online
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Age Friendly Network webinar, ‘Connection & Community: Less Lonely, Better Connected’ on Wednesday 12 June, 10am – 12:30pm (Zoom). This Loneliness Week 2024, we will hear from the Age Social Housing Programme team about the top loneliness interventions from the programme and what this means for the housing sector. We’re also excited to welcome our guest speaker, Professor Andrea Wigfield, Director of Centre for Loneliness Studies.
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14th June - 9:30 - 12:30 - Online
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In this, the inaugural symposium of the International Centre for Community-based Loneliness Prevention (ICCLP), Nottingham Trent host this event, bringing together academics from Japan, Australia and the UK with local stakeholders and practitioners in Nottinghamshire to set out an agenda for future research on tackling loneliness at local community level.
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Contributors will outline the current gaps in knowledge, propose new ways of understanding loneliness and demonstrate how current community-based initiatives and interventions help integrate and empower those suffering from loneliness.
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20th June - 12:00 - 14:00 - Online
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Communities Tackling Loneliness with Transport is a Department of Transport funded collaborative project between Action Hampshire, Good Neighbours Network, MHA Hampshire, Age Concern Hampshire, and the University of Winchester.
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Between September 2022 and August 2023, they piloted three community transport initiatives aimed at reducing loneliness in isolated older adults by providing increased access, through transport, to social opportunities, community, connectedness, and services. All projects were delivered entirely through electric vehicles, to understand more about how this could be taken forward sustainably.
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"Join us as we present our extensive learning on delivering interventions aimed at tackling loneliness, gathered through an in-depth evaluation led by Dr Debra Gray at the University of Winchester. We will celebrate the positive impact that these pilot schemes have had in the lives of those it supported, and present some of the challenges of delivering sustainable community transport interventions. Finally, we will think about legacy of this work, the implications it will have on future loneliness services."
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