Fourteen ways councils can help combat loneliness

Tackling loneliness is a local government priority. Here’s some expert advice on how councils can address it

 

Loneliness can harm physical and mental health and addressing it needs to be a priority for councils.

1) Councils need to team up with partners to combat loneliness; they cannot go it alone

We know that loneliness can harm a person’s mental and physical health. Communities with high levels of social capital have better results in health and education attainment and can enjoy greater levels of social cohesion. For these reasons (among others), loneliness needs to be a key priority for councils.

But loneliness is multifaceted, so local authorities cannot do this alone. It will be vital for councils to work in partnership with community groups, local faith groups, the voluntary sector and the private sector. Local knowledge and local relationships will be critical to offer the personal approach required to support those suffering from loneliness.

– Lizzie Greenhalgh is policy researcher at the Local Government Information Unit.

2) Use leisure centres as a way to bring people together and promote healthy living

Leisure centres are important. Islington, for example, offers free swimming to the over 60s – this is a great way of encouraging not only better physical health but also provides a good opportunity to socialise.

– Lizzie Greenhalgh

3) Environment has a big impact on wellbeing and loneliness

I’m a research student at University College London working on a project called liveable cities. I’m starting to study the relationship between the built environment and wellbeing. When thinking about loneliness, we should also take into account connectivity. How well connected is a person at home to other areas? This means thinking not only about the local, but also the metropolitan perspective. Precisely because the choices each of us makes in terms of sociability are so personal, we have to include the need (and the desire) to socialise outside our neighbourhoods too.

– Christina Victor is professor of public health and associate deputy of research at Brunel University’s school of health studies.

4) Be clear, and do not conflate loneliness and isolation

Recognise the diversity of the experience of loneliness in later life: some people will have been lonely all their life and so may require different interventions from those for whom loneliness in later life is a new experience. Tailor interventions to needs and the solutions suggested by older people. It’s also important to accept that not all people want to be helped.

– Christina Victor

5) Remember, loneliness is a legitimate priority for local government

At first glance loneliness is a strange issue for the state to become involved in, but it is nonetheless a legitimate and important priority. But if ever there was a case for interventions to be built on the needs and wants of the person concerned – what the NHS would call patient-centered care – this is it.

– Richard Vize is a regular contributor to the Guardian local government and healthcare networks.

6) A personal response is needed

I’d like to make a comment about loneliness being very personal and how in turn we need to provide a personal response, meaningful for individuals. We cannot assume a blanket response to loneliness will work. I think we can all note a time in our lives that we felt lonely and the pain that can bring, regardless of how transient it was. Fixing the problem is not the same for all of us.

– Angela Browne is research director at Qa Research and is completing the evaluation of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation Neighbourhood approaches to loneliness programme.

7) The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has put together a helpful resource pack

Here is a link to a resource pack produced by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation for people looking to work with neighbourhoods around issues relating to loneliness. Within this, following our consultation with over 20 different stakeholders we suggest 10 top tips for engaging with people to talk about loneliness.

– Angela Browne

8) Don’t forget about those who are lonely and hard to reach

I think anything that gets people together for whatever reason has the potential to help those experiencing loneliness. My worry is the hidden lonely and how we get to them.

– Angela Browne

9) Sense has piloted social prescribing

Sense has piloted social prescribing focusing on improving wellbeing through arts sport or culture. This offers older people with dual sensory loss a chance to join a like-minded group and connect with various functions of their local community.

It is an alternative health-promotion service, forming part of an on-going health and social care plan in co-ordination with their GP. We have evaluated the service and findings will be published in the next edition of the Journal for Integrated Care.

– Richard Kramer is the deputy chief executive of Sense.

10) Sharing food is important

In general the services that we know work well are those which are based around shared interests, which are group based, and in which people are actively involved.

– Kate Jopling is director of the Campaign to End Loneliness.

Another food related example …

Comes in Bradford Moor where members from diverse communities came together to make and share their own food from their cultural background. Food is a common language!

– Angela Browne

11) Technology can be fantastic for people to contact others where distance is an issue

For people with sensory impairments it can be a life-changer. However, alongside this we need to remember that there is very little else that can replace good old fashioned face-to-face contact.

Although technology is now much more accessible than it ever has been in the past, it’s also the case that some people (regardless of age, I should add!) are not particularly interested in keeping up with the latest technological developments.

– Jean Boddy is a senior manager in adult social care commissioning at Surrey county council.

12) At Elmbridge digital exclusion is a barrier

We have been running computer courses for some years now, which does help. However, we ensure that all our promotional material is produced in hard copy as well as online, therefore ensuring that nobody is excluded.

– Gail McKenzie is preventative services project manager at Elmbridge council.

13) Isolation is a public health issue

Addressing it as such is a good example of where moving public health into local government encourages new approaches to health which tackle underlying causes – providing a better opportunity to link up with social housing providers, schools etc as well as social care.

– Richard Vize

14) Men’s Sheds shows what happens when you get people with a common interest together

Men Sheds is different as it encourages people to get together and share a common interest. We know that group activities may be more beneficial for some people. In recent months Sense has developed a social prescribing pilot in another authority area. This has enabled older people to come together and take part in arts and craft activities in a safe, social setting. There is strong evidence from the examples of people who have attended that the activity has helped them increase self confidence, reduce social isolation and make new friends. There are important outcomes for participants in terms of understanding their sensory impairments and the ways in which they can access different services.

– Richard Kramer

http://www.theguardian.com/local-government-network