Housing’s role in tackling loneliness
The Campaign to End Loneliness states that loneliness is one of the largest public health challenges we face, with those from lower socio-economic backgrounds being more likely to feel lonely due to inequity in resources like “employment, education, access to health services and public transport” as well as not being able “to afford activities or opportunities to socialise” (Campaign to End Loneliness, 2024).
It is also clear that Housing is one of the factors (although often part of a range of factors) impacting on vulnerability to loneliness. In a government report published in December 2023, owner occupiers reported being less likely to often or always feel lonely (5%) in comparison to the private rented sector (7%). Those living in the social rented sector were much more likely than both those groups to feel lonely often or always (15%), (English Housing Survey 2023, government publication).
By using personal characteristics and circumstances that increase or reduce the likelihood of experiencing loneliness, the ONS (2024) identified three distinct profiles of people at particular risk from loneliness:
- Widowed homeowners living alone with long-term health conditions
- Unmarried, middle-aged people with long-term health conditions
- Young renters with little trust and sense of belonging to their area
The cost-of-living crisis, which many of our residents are currently facing, also poses new challenges for housing providers. This exacerbates the loneliness issue by further limiting our residents’ ability to access projects and opportunities that might offer social connection.
It may seem like a grim picture, but the sector has already risen to the challenge of tackling loneliness across our communities and there are a plethora of examples of projects and programmes set up to try and connect our neighbourhoods.
There is so much innovation and thinking already going on in the sector to tackle these problems, not least by the team at Neighbourly Lab with their focus on the settings and conditions that enable social connection (and therefore prevent the risk of loneliness). They also manage the Tackling Loneliness Hub, which offers a perfect space for organisations to come together to share best practice and design new initiatives to combat loneliness once and for all. Since being appointed to manage the Hub, Neighbourly Lab has been able to connect sectors across a range of themes including sport, creativity and intergenerational projects, sharing tools, resources and best practice.
A Housing Association example is how SNG have been working closely with other housing associations, charities, academics and funders as part of the newly formed South-West Impact Alliance. This collective of over 50 purpose-led organisations are united by the mission of “making loneliness a stranger” and have been pooling funding and sharing research to amplify their collective impact.
SNG have also been working with local partner, Hillside Performing Arts, at Beechwood Court, our Dementia Care scheme in Wembley to deliver a series of Reminiscence sessions with residents. Weekly sessions around getting active, sharing memories and group games have proved highly popular with residents and our pilot has already seen some incredible outcomes: improving residents’ cognitive function, health and wellbeing, confidence - and reducing social isolation and loneliness across the scheme.
The Scheme Manager at Beechwood Court reported: "Customers have been engaged and connected, their participation and enthusiasm has made the workshop an enjoyable experience for all. The memories evoked bring joy and connection and a willingness to share personal experiences. The ability to recall and share has been impressive and heart-warming."
Another example from the sector is the ‘Wellbeing10’ project, co-designed with Clarion Housing Group residents, (a group of Clarion residents helping to shape services, strategies and programmes). The Wellbeing10, encourages Clarion Response maintenance staff to spend an extra 10 minutes in a resident’s home to have an ‘informal chat’ if they feel there are signs of social isolation or loneliness. These signs were outlined in a toolkit created by Clarion55, with information about what to do if a colleague spots poor wellbeing (such as the person indicating they haven’t left the house for a long period of time and signs of poor mental health, such as hoarding). Residents showing signs of loneliness were referred into Clarion services, with Clarion Response staff also sharing that it improved their own wellbeing in work.
Places for People, Clarion and SNG have also worked closely with InCommon, a charity set up to connect groups of young people with their older neighbours so they can share experiences, celebrate differences and learn from one another. Investing in activities which bring together independent living services and local schools has had a huge impact on creating connected communities and reducing loneliness.
We need to think innovatively about how we can ensure the issue does not continue to worsen and, for me, the answer lies with our residents themselves and our engagements across all staff teams.
Through good customer engagement and truly listening to those living in our communities, we can better understand the root causes of loneliness and collaborate to develop solutions to the issue. At SNG we are looking at how we can create as many touchpoints as possible for residents to engage with us, understanding there is not a one-size-fits-all in creating positive dialogue with our communities. With our residents we recently co-designed a toolkit and workshop for all staff, to share tips and tools on good engagement with customers. With the mantra of “making customer engagement everyone’s business”, our workshop is being co-delivered with residents who share personal examples of how engagement can have a positive impact on people’s lives and the communities in which they live.
As a sector, we know we have a part to play in tackling the loneliness epidemic but we cannot make a sustainable difference without working with cross-sector partners. As well as connecting our residents with Housing services such as employment support and money advice, we can also signpost them into local activities and health services through our network of partners.
Therefore, this Loneliness Awareness Week, in partnership with Neighbourly Lab, we are coming together as a Housing sector to explore how we can collaborate to find new solutions to the challenge, encouraging Housing partners to sign up to the Tackling Loneliness Hub and be part of the change. I firmly believe that a truly connected approach is the only way we can finally tackle the loneliness crisis. Listening to residents; sharing best practice both inside and outside the sector; and collaboratively investing in projects and programmes is the cure to this epidemic.