Transcript Document
LONELINESS Language... has created the word "loneliness" to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word "solitude" to express the glory of being alone.” - Paul Johannes Tillich “ What exactly is loneliness? • A mismatch of the relationships we have and those we want • An internal trigger telling us to seek company as thirst tells us to drink and hunger tells us to eat • Loneliness describes the pain of being alone as solitude describes the joy of being alone • Isolation is often where there is no choice but to be alone • Some people seek solitude, but few choose to be lonely, primarily because it isn’t good for us Loneliness in the UK Almost half of adults in England say they experience feelings of loneliness Loneliness = A serious risk to health What causes loneliness? A range of ‘risk factors’ increase our vulnerability to loneliness: Wider society: • Transport • Physical environment • Community • Housing • Technology • Crime • Population changes Personal: • Poor health • Sensory loss • Loss of mobility • Less income • Bereavement • Being out of work • Other change, e.g. becoming a carer A neighbourhood approach - Action Research • Place based approach to loneliness • Asset based community development, action research • Working with people in their neighbourhood to explore what contributes to feelings of overwhelming/problematic loneliness • Exploring factors like location, health and wellbeing, safety, independence, life transitions • Developing and putting into practice local ideas and activities to reduce the effects of loneliness • Making every contact and conversation count The neighbourhoods – York & Bradford NEIGHBOURHOOD APPROACHES TO LONELINESS What are the issues affecting people in the four neighbourhoods Key messages from the programme • Loneliness kills people and communities • Regulation kills kindness and reduces action • Lonely people are vulnerable, this is a safeguarding issue • Building personal and community confidence builds community resilience • Community researchers are now activists – sharing the key messages Key messages from the programme • The stepping stones to engagement and education need to be put back • There is a real contradiction between society’s ideals and individual experience • You can take the ideas out of the process. You cannot take the process away from the ideas Anyone can be lonely, even busy people. can reduce loneliness – their own or • Anyone How do we make every contact count? others Wot… no time ? • How do we look after the health and wellbeing of our communities, congregations, colleagues and ourselves? • How do we give the gift of time when we lead such busy lives? • How do we resource prevention in hard times? • How do we ensure that our community assets are community hubs used to their full potential and open to all? • Let’s see how we can all talk about loneliness Free resources • This resource pack brings together the lessons and experiences from the programme and includes: • Loneliness resource pack - session plans, causes and ideas, case studies … • Can do – guidance and tips for negotiating community action; • Evaluation - Can neighbourhood approaches to loneliness contribute to peoples wellbeing • Lets talk about loneliness - a short film featuring interviews with the communities involved in our research