In a world where we are so connected, it seems that we can be more disconnected than ever. It has been estimated that over nine million people in the UK are either always or often lonely.1 It is something rarely discussed and often dismissed as something which only affects the elderly, yet loneliness is indiscriminate in who it touches and its impact is wide-reaching. Loneliness and health are inextricably linked and it is as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.2 As such, it is significantly impacting health services. Three out of four GPs state that they see between one and five people in a day who have come in mainly because they are lonely, with one in ten GPs seeing between six and 10 such patients daily.2
The HAVAS Just:: team were touched by these statistics and the moving Jo Cox Loneliness: start a conversation report. We all feel loneliness at some point in our lives but to live with the impact of this day in and day out, compelled us to take action and to focus our pro bono work for 2018/19 on loneliness and social isolation. At HAVAS Just:: we care as much about the impact of our work as we do the bottom line. That’s why every year we give time to not-for-profit organisations under our A Just:: Cause programme – providing communications support, advice and training. Every single member of our team has the opportunity to get involved in A Just:: Cause work, which provides an opportunity to work with different team members and to get experience outside our client programmes.
This year we invited charities that work in this space to apply for our support and received some powerful submissions making our decision really challenging. It was the Campaign to End Loneliness’ Be More Us campaign to inspire real life conversations and connection which really spoke to us.
We are excited to be embarking on this collaboration with Campaign to End Loneliness and cannot wait to share more as this programme evolves. In the meantime, remember that we can all do something to tackle loneliness. Seemingly simple moments of connection, like saying hello to your neighbour or smiling at that person in the queue next to you, are an important way to take the first steps to tackle loneliness.
References
- The Red Cross. Trapped in a bubble: An investigation into triggers for loneliness in the UK Report, December 2016. https://www.redcross.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do/action-on-loneliness. Last accessed July 2018
- Jo Cox Loneliness Start A Conversation – Combatting loneliness one conversation at a time: a call to action. Available at: https://www.jocoxloneliness.org/pdf/a_call_to_action.pdf. Last accessed July 2018