Loneliness and isolation are serious issues that affect people of all ages. According to a recent study by the Office for National Statistics, more than one in four adults in the UK reported feeling lonely in the previous seven days.
Studies have shown that loneliness can have negative impacts on our physical and mental health, such as increased risk of depression, anxiety, cardiovascular disease, dementia, and early death.
When we ran the Ageing Well project for more than six years, we proved that reducing loneliness positively affected people’s health, leading to fewer doctor’s appointments and fewer visits to hospital A&E departments.
One of the reasons for setting up the community builder team was to promote health and wellbeing by reducing loneliness and isolation, in the beginning for over 50s, but now for everyone in our communities.
We have chosen ‘friendly benches’ as one of the ways we can act to combat loneliness and to create opportunities for social connection in public spaces, such as parks, walking routes and leisure paths.
A park bench, chosen as a ‘friendly bench’, is a simple and visible means to combat loneliness. The designated benches have signs and recognised symbols that say that anyone who sits on them is open to having a conversation with a stranger. The idea is to encourage people who feel lonely or isolated to sit on the bench and chat with someone who might be in a similar situation or just looking for some company.
Below is a map of where you can find Friendly Benches across Torbay. If you’d like to have a chat with us, perhaps while on one of these benches, or would even like to suggest a spot for a new friendly bench, give us a call on 01803 212638 or email [email protected]
