‘Healing loneliness is the responsibility of all of us’

Dame Esther Rantzen, 78

I remember speaking to Jo Cox, the muchmissed MP, when she was first setting up her Commission on Loneliness, and we agreed it could affect every age. The young mother in the playground with only her toddler to talk to. The teenager pursued by cyber bullies. Jo said: “Young or old, loneliness doesn’t discriminate.” The really alarming finding is that loneliness affects almost one fifth of the population. No wonder Theresa May appointed Tracey Crouch MP as Minister for Loneliness.

But I believe healing loneliness, especially among older people, is a responsibility that families, friends and neighbours can take on, too. A friend of mine, Gwen, is a widow who lives in a village. People drop by five or six times a day to eat one of her freshly baked scones, have a cup of tea, and take her dog for a walk. When snow falls, her path is kept clear. If “community care” means anything, that village is a perfect example.

So it can be done. That’s why, to explore a range of cures and treatments, a new four-part video series created by the Telegraph

highlights communities where different causes of loneliness have taken hold. Each episode focuses on two people, who bravely describe their experiences and show that overcoming it can be done.