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Wednesday 1 November 2023
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How warmth can alleviate winter loneliness
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Hannah Walters, a freelance writer discusses why we feel lonelier in the winter, how warmth can alleviate winter loneliness, and whether warmth can improve our mental health in our latest blog. Hannah gives us some tips on socialising and staying warm throughout the winter.
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What we are thinking about
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As plans for our Loneliness: The next five years conference continue to take shape, we invite you to enter our poster competition to showcase your work in addressing loneliness. The poster competition is open to all and last year's conference saw a wealth of entries, really demonstrating the amazing research and practice happening globally to address loneliness.
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In order to submit your poster presentation, please complete the submission form by Monday 4 December at 9am. Submissions will be reviewed by a panel and the very best presentations will be asked to present their work during a panel session at our conference on Thursday 8 February 2024.
For inspiration, watch the 2023 winning poster presentation entries who were selected for presenting innovative loneliness projects or research, and communicating this work in an engaging and accessible way.
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A recent article from the Guardian discusses a retirement home which was built to be the opposite of a retreat. It's a radical, open-plan social housing in London for over-65s boasts film nights, yoga sessions. St Saviour’s, which was founded in 1541, near where Borough Market now stands, is also a grant-making trust, funding local groups for refugees, youth centres and music and arts. The idea is that these groups will make use of the new space, helping it to feel like an integral part of Bermondsey life, not a secluded retirement home.
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Following our recent work on Tackling loneliness through the built environment this new project from Hey Neighbour Collective and Happy Cities caught our attention. In partnership with Simon Fraser University they will be undertaking a three phase project to: measure the impact of the City of North Vancouver’s Active Design Guidelines; co-create housing design policies to support social wellbeing in multi-unit housing; and develop the Building Social Connections policy and design toolkit.
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What we are reading
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This US study involves analysis of longitudinal questionnaire data to examine the impact of peer and parental relationships on the association between young peoples’ loneliness and their alcohol and cannabis use. The sample included 544 young people aged 14 to 24 who were recruited after admission to an emergency department in a mid-western city following an assault-related injury. Follow-up data was collected over the next two years. Findings showed that increases in severity of alcohol use, but not cannabis use, were accompanied by increases in loneliness. Findings also showed associations of negative (but not positive) peer influences, of parental support and of parental substance use with loneliness.
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Previous cross-sectional studies have found that loneliness is associated with alcohol and marijuana use. This is one of few studies which examines the prospective association between loneliness and increases in substance use. The US community sample was recruited at an urban medical centre comprising people with substance use problems and analysis for this study included 210 adults. Those who were lonely at one time point reported higher primary substance use at the next compared to those who were not lonely. The authors suggest that worsening of substance use problems may be mitigated by offering advice on addressing loneliness.
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Dates for your diary
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Thursday 9 November - 16:30-18:15 - Online
Join Hey Neighbour Collective to hear from the UK’s largest non-market housing operator and a London-based design consultant shifting city development policy and contribute your own insights about the connection between housing and wellbeing.
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Friday 10 November - 09:30-16:30 - In-person
This Hull CVS 'Be Connected Loneliness Conference' will bring predominately Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations together to share expertise and knowledge regarding how to work together to tackle the challenge of loneliness within the sector with a key focus on recognising and rewarding volunteers role in service delivery.
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Monday 13 November - 09:00-10:30
A virtual launch of new OECD report with high-level opening and expert roundtable. The new OECD report Built environment through a Well-being Lens explores how the built environment interacts with people’s lives and affects their well-being and its sustainability. The report draws on the OECD’s Well-Being Framework – which provides a holistic and people-centred frame to measure and monitor societies’ conditions – to highlight the many inter-relationships between the built environment and both material and non-material aspects of people’s lives.
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Wednesday 15 November - 12:00-13:00 - Online
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Come along to the latest Tackling Loneliness Hub co-working session to connect with and learn from other members who work on volunteer management or are interested in this area.
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We will be discussing strategies for recruiting, onboarding, engaging and retaining volunteers. As well as sharing tips, insights and good practice from you on volunteer management.
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Thursday 16 November - 16:00-17:00 - In-person
This one hour talk from Dr Laura Riddleston will explore what we know about loneliness in youth, and ways in which education professionals can best support young people in school settings who may be experiencing feelings of loneliness or social isolation.
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Monday 20 November - 9:30-10:30 - Online
Join the Good Practice Mentor team to learn about Torbay Communities' approach to building community connectivity over the last 10 years.
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Anytime - Online
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Drawing on our expertise in loneliness and connection, our Loneliness Explored e-learning module is designed to help individuals understand the risk factors for loneliness and how it can affect our mental and physical health, as well as promising approaches that can help.
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Donate to the Campaign
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We believe that people of all ages need connections that matter. We have been experts in the field of loneliness and connection since 2011 and our vision is that everyone can live a life free from chronic loneliness.
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Get in touch
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Do you have news or thoughts that you would like to share with people working on loneliness and others who are interested? Email info@ctel.blazeoven.co.uk.uk
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