County projects show the way as £2m loneliness fund is launched
GRASSROOTS PROJECTS in Yorkshire are proving their value in tackling loneliness, as the Minister responsible for tackling the issue across the country announced a multi-million pound fund.
Minister for Civil Society, Baroness Diana Barran, heralded the work of organisations in the region as the Government pledged £2m of investment to help lessen the impact of loneliness.
She singled out a project in Compton Road Library in Leeds, where two people who were long-term unemployed were being trained as baristas, as she said these were the groups which made a difference to those who had no-one to turn to.
A study by The Co-op and the British Red Cross revealed more than nine million people were always or often lonely, and launched its award-winning campaign in 2014 to highlight the devastating health implications of loneliness.
The Government has marked the first anniversary today of the launch of a loneliness strategy with the new fund to help organisations at the frontline of tackling the issue.
It aims to help grassroots organisations build links with other local groups, raise awareness and help address loneliness within their communities by bringing them together and making connections.
The fund will be worth £2m and builds on previous investment.
Baroness Barran said she had personal experience of loneliness through her mother, who was a refugee.
She said: “When she came here, she ended up working for the War Office but she did a degree at night at the London School of Economics. On her first Christmas she didn’t know a soul in London, so she sat in the LSE library on her own, and she just sat there in tears all day.
“I’ve definitely had times where I felt extremely lonely and it’s a very paralysing thing, even if your rational brain says you know lots of people, you’ve got a huge family, you’ve got friends, actually in the moment there are all sorts of other voices saying could be like this forever? And that’s a scary thing.”
Baroness Barran said The Yorkshire Post had “led the way” in raising the conversation about loneliness, and said: “I think the Government’s role is to be a catalyst but let other people take up the running.”
She added: “So the idea here is to really underline how amazing this ultra local work is. It’s not a government campaign saying this is good for you today. But also to do it in a way that is a kind of celebration of what’s happening and raises awareness locally. All those things are the glue that holds communities together are going on all over the place.”
Further details on the funding application process, including eligibility, will follow in due course.
All those things are the glue that holds communities together. Baroness Diana Barran, Minister for Civil Society.