-THREAD-

During our research, several people tell us it is easy to associate loneliness as something that only affects the elderly. It is a big problem for this group - over 1 million older people in the UK saying they always or often feel lonely @lgacomms.

HOWEVER...https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Down pointing backhand index" aria-label="Emoji: Down pointing backhand index">

Loneliness impacts other population groups too including (but not limited to):

•LGBTQ community
•BAME communities
•Those with enduring mental health issues
•Carers
•Disabled people
•Lone parents

#SocialIsolation #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek

Loneliness also affects young people with a @YouGov survey finding 31% of 18 to 24-year-olds feeling lonely often or all the time. These feelings can be difficult to escape as the years progress…

#Socialisolation #MentalHealthAwareness https://abs.twimg.com/hashflags... draggable="false" alt=""> #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek

The @jocoxfoundation noted that, there are few measures of loneliness for young people and called for more robust data on this to fully understand the impact.

One possible outcome from #socialdistancing during #Covid_19 could be an increase in public awareness of this

BBI welcomes current projects like:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="▶️" title="Right-pointing triangle" aria-label="Emoji: Right-pointing triangle"> @PGtips funding the training of 2,000 volunteers to phone the elderly and the isolated (aim to make 100,000 calls)

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="▶️" title="Right-pointing triangle" aria-label="Emoji: Right-pointing triangle">Arts study being run by @UCL_Loneliness to gather young people’s perspectives on lockdown and loneliness

#MentalHealth https://abs.twimg.com/hashflags... draggable="false" alt="">