Loneliness and Radical Kindness
Weak social connection is as harmful to health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day (Holt Lunstad). Over 9 million adults are often or always lonely (British Red Cross and Co-op).
In December 2017, the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness published its report with a stark summary of the prevalence and consequences of loneliness and social isolation. With three out of four GPs saying they see between 1 and 5 people a day because they’re lonely (Campaign to End Loneliness) and disconnected communities costing the UK economy £32 billion every year (Big Lunch).
But there is hope amongst the statistics, with 81% of people in agreement that there are lots of actions everyone can take in their daily lives to help those feeling lonely (British Red Cross and Co-op).
In this spirit, on 6th March, we partnered with Sheffield Flourish to bring together representatives from the Voluntary, Community and Faith sectors to apply their combined experience, skills and local knowledge to tackling social isolation and loneliness in Sheffield.
The enthusiasm and strong will to combat loneliness and re-connect communities was clear from the beginning of the Forum.
Radical Kindness
Natasha Wilson from Age UK, was our first speaker and caught everyone’s imagination. Natasha told us how dementia patients often report feeling unwanted and lonely as a result of being ignored (The Alzheimer’s Society found that 38% of people with dementia said that they had lost friends after their diagnosis).
For Natasha, the key to alleviating loneliness is to pursue ‘radical kindness’ (a term coined by a colleague from South Yorkshire Housing Association) as individuals and as organisations. But what is radical kindness? We all think we know what kindness is but try and define it without giving an example of a kind act or a kind person…it’s not easy! What is clear is that we know kindness when we see it.
‘Well, I wasn’t expecting a date tonight!’
Natasha told us about a woman she overheard on the bus who noticed a distressed older gentleman. Rather than looking the other way, she started to chat with him. She soon learned he was on the wrong bus and used his phone to contact his daughter to let her know he was safe. This local hero arranged to take the gentleman (who she found out has dementia) to a local pub and wait there with him utill his daughter arrived.
To Natasha, this encapsulates radical kindness, connecting through meaningful interaction.
‘It takes a lot of courage to open your heart when you’re delivering a service’
There is a fine line between being kind to everyone we encounter and neglecting our own needs for kindness. Acknowledging how hard it is to get this balance right is the first step to being consistently ‘radically kind’. It involves being aware of our vulnerabilities, so we can ask for kindness, as much as it is about knowing how we can be kind to others. It requires effort, patience, and self-care.
Inspired and refreshed after a short break, Forum attendees were put to work, designing a connected city and identifying the assets that create an environment where connection and radical kindness can flourish.
