Tackling Loneliness: Insights from REDWatch’s Meeting

REDWatch recently hosted a meeting on Loneliness, Social prescription, and Wellbeing. In preparation for this session, REDWatch consulted with several experts in the field.

Jane Massa delivered the Sydney Local Health District (SLHD) presentation. Jane is based at the Redfern Health Centre. She is the Coordinator for Suicide and Depression Prevention for Older People. This role is part of the Towards Zero Suicides Program.

You can watch the presentation on REDWatch YouTube

Our survey of 300 Waterloo public housing tenants revealed high levels of loneliness. Among the respondents, 28% feel lonely often, and 36% feel lonely sometimes. Nearly one in three Australians experience loneliness, and one in six face severe loneliness. These findings are from the 2023 State of the Nation Report on Social Connection in Australia.The Waterloo Human Service Collaborative will be focusing on this issue in 2025.

Loneliness affects all age groups, with recent research indicating that Australians aged 15 to 24 are the loneliest demographic. The 2023 Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey highlights a powerful message. Social isolation and loneliness can significantly impact mental health. They also adversely affect physical health.

It’s important to distinguish between social isolation and loneliness. Social isolation means there is a lack of social contact. Loneliness is a subjective feeling of being cut off from others. This feeling can occur even when social contact is available. A person can be surrounded by people and still feel lonely.

The impact of social isolation and loneliness is well-documented, and the City of Sydney is facing an epidemic. While some individuals are more at risk, loneliness does not discriminate.

Health studies have shown that loneliness can be as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Conversely, joining a group can halve the risk of dying in the next year by 50%.

Addressing this issue starts with raising awareness and de-stigmatizing loneliness, encouraging people to seek support. Connecting individuals to activities and social events can help reduce isolation, improve wellbeing, and strengthen community bonds. We can all contribute by simply asking, “Are you OK?”

Below, we provide suggestions for resources people can access if they need specialized help or need to find activities.

Ending Loneliness Together—www.endingloneliness.com.au This is a national network of organisations that have come together to address the growing problem of loneliness in Australians. The website is their main resource, and it includes resources and tip sheets on loneliness based on research. It is a good starting point for understanding what loneliness is and is not.

Live Up—www.liveup.org.au Funded by the Australian Government, this site aims to help people stay independent through healthy ageing. It offers lists of exercise classes, product suggestions, and local groups so you can age your way. Take the free, confidential quiz to see your suggestions.

Australian Social Prescribing Institute of Research and Education (ASPIRE) – www.creatingopportunitiestogether.com.au – This website contains information about how social prescribing interacts with social determinants of health and the evidence basis for social prescription. Loneliness is just one of the reasons why a social prescription might be beneficial. In some places like the UK, Victoria, and some parts of NSW (including Waterloo), your local GP or service can also propose a “social prescription” rather than, or in addition to, a medical prescription. From the medical side, social prescriptions are essential as they deal with the social determinants of health. Often, a doctor’s view demands tremendous respect and generates compliance for something that someone could attend directly to themselves.

Head to Health – www.headtohealth.gov.au – Is a federal service that aims to make it easier to access wellbeing and mental health services. It can help you find resources for maintaining your wellbeing as well as helping you find an appropriate service. It also runs a free call number for mental health advice and guidance, 1800595212. You enter your postcode, and the call is directed to the service responsible for your local area, where they can talk to you, make an assessment and recommend the next steps.

Public Health Network (PHN) funded Services – The Central and Eastern Sydney PHN is a federally funded regional body with the key objectives of increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of medical services for individuals, particularly those at risk of poor health outcomes. CESPHN funds programs that may or may not require a GP referral for mental health services. See – https://cesphn.org.au/general-practice/help-my-patients-with/mental-health/mental-health-services-funded-by-cesphn

Two of these programs for example, are:

• Primary and Community Care Services (PCCS) – www.pccs.org.au – such as Social Rx, where GPs can make social prescriptions and where there are social activities you can join. Your Coach Plus is another program, and no referral is needed. PCCS is also Head to Health regional provider.
• Anglicare—www.anglicare.org.au is funded by the Older Persons’ Wellbeing Network (OPWN), where no referral is needed for a program that offers support for older persons in the CESPHN region on a number of topics, including four free sessions of 1:1 counselling.

Get Healthy Service – www.gethealthynsw.com.au/ – This NSW service offers free phone and online health coaching to help you make lifestyle changes to improve your health. Diabetes Australia delivers it for NSW Health; the service is available to people over 16 years of age living in NSW. You’ll receive six or more confidential coaching calls from a university-qualified health coach when you join. Part of being healthy is being active; doing this with others can help address loneliness.

Sydney Local Health District (SLHD) – In addition to running health services in its hospitals, SLHD also runs Mental Health in the Community services for people across the community demographics such as the Older People’s Mental Health (OPMH) Services, Youth and Adult Community Health Services and specialist areas like Hoarding and Squalor. If you have problems connecting to a service contact Shane Brown email SLHD-integratedcareteam@health.nsw.gov.au.

In Waterloo, Shane helps people navigate the health system. Jane Massa SLHD’s Coordinator of Suicide and Depression Prevention, Older People at Redfern Health Centre provided this informative presentation to REDWatch on Loneliness Social Prescribing and Wellbeing.

Involvement in Community activities – a recent survey of Waterloo tenants found that about half reported being involved in various community activities, including attending a community meeting or events, participating in an organised group (such as a social group, sports team, church group, community group) or taking an active role in providing or supporting a community service or program or volunteering for an organisation. So think about what you would like to do, look around for a group that shares that interest, and ask how you can be involved.

Volunteering – if you would like to volunteer, there are many local organisations and volunteer groups in the area. Each year, Counterpoint Community Services holds Volunteer Awards and a lunch to recognise all the volunteers who make the area what it is. You can get some ideas about places people volunteer in the Redwater Montage – Volunteers … The heart of our community booklet. So talk to your local agency about your interest; hopefully, they can point you in the right direction. If you want to know more about volunteering or are having difficulty matching your interests or skills with a place that would like them, visit the Centre for Volunteering, which provides training for volunteers and has a database of people looking for volunteers.

NGO Community Centres and programs

Community Centres like Counterpoint’s The Factory or Multicultural Neighbourhood Centre arrange many activities that provide opportunities for people to find activities they might be interested in. They also host activities from other community groups. Such services also often have case workers or councillors who can help point people to services or activities that might assist them.

City of Sydney Council – Council runs and promotes many activities you can join through the City of Sydney What’s On Event Guide. It also runs community and activity centres and programs, so finding out what your nearest Council Community Centre offers can be a good starting point for meeting people and doing things you want to do. The council has a Community Service Worker, Jessica Mayr, who organizes activities for older people in the Sydney Council area.

Ending Loneliness in the City Forum – Last year Greens Councillor Sylvie Ellsmore held a community forum on Ending Loneliness in the City with panel members from Wayside Chapel, Inner Sydney Voice, and Council for the Ageing, Sydney Alliance, Millers Point Community Centre part of 4CCCs and a social isolation researcher. A report from that forum can be found in the Ending Loneliness in the City Community Forum Summary Report.

Source REDWatch website http://www.redwatch.org.au/RWA/humanservices/wloohs/241003redwr