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Join Us for Loneliness Awareness Week As We Make Time To Connect With Seniors
GenWell is launching Loneliness Awareness Week with a focus on Seniors this June 10-16
TORONTO – There is a loneliness epidemic affecting Canada’s senior population and GenWell wants to rally all Canadians together to do something about it. Loneliness Awareness Week, running June 10-16, is a week when GenWell wants to inspire all Canadians to be part of the solution to the growing issue of social isolation, disconnection and loneliness in the seniors population.
According to 2023’s Canadian Social Survey, over 50% of Canadian seniors report feelings of loneliness, with 30.1% stating they do not have people they can rely on when they have problems and over 300,000 report feeling consistently lonely over the past 10 years. GenWell, Canada’s Human Connection Movement believes the solution to combating loneliness is not just about educating seniors on the importance of human connection, but educating all Canadians on the growing issue and that the solution lies in all Canadians reaching out to a senior and getting connected.
“Loneliness ends when we reach out, and Seniors Loneliness Awareness Week is intended to be a time to reach out and connect. During the week, we are encouraging people to honour the wisdom and experiences of our seniors by bridging the gap with empathy and companionship,” said Pete Bombaci, Founder and CEO of GenWell. “Our goal is to help everyone find their own way to connect with a senior, because together, we can make every senior feel a sense of connection and community.”
Loneliness Awareness Week was created in 2017 by the Marmalade Trust in the United Kingdom and GenWell is its proud Canadian partner. GenWell’s ongoing mission, since 2016, has been to make the world a happier and healthier place by educating, empowering and catalyzing people around the importance of face-to-face social connection as a proactive step that we can all take to improve our own health, happiness, and longevity, as well as for those around us. We have chosen to make seniors the focus of the week in Canada, as it is a segment of the population that has long struggled with loneliness, but even more so after the global pandemic. We have a need and a responsibility to engage all Canadians to be more conscious about playing a role in solving the issues of social isolation, disconnection and loneliness within our senior population.
HOW TO CONNECT WITH A SENIOR
Making a connection can be as simple as a few seconds, an afternoon or a day of connection. It really depends on what works for you and the senior you connect with. Here are some suggestions on how to connect with a senior June 10-16:
- Make time to say hello or have a conversation.
- Go for coffee or a meal together.
- Go for a walk together in nature.
- Enjoy time with a hobby or interest.
Medical research has shown that the increased risk of death from loneliness and social isolation is similar to that of smoking 15 cigarettes a day or having an alcohol use disorder. Notably, loneliness and social isolation among older adults has been linked to an increase in the risk of a range of serious issues, including:
- Dementia (50%)
- Premature death (45%)
- Stroke (32%)
- Coronary heart disease (29%)
- Cancer mortality (25%)
While the focus of the week is on seniors, social health and increasing human connection is something we can work on all year long. To that end, GenWell runs awareness campaigns at strategic points throughout the year – often targeting specific segments of the population, but also encouraging everyone’s involvement. GenWell’s activations during the year include:
- Face-to-Face February – Students (key segment)
- Spring GenWell Weekend – All Canadians (people struggle with seasonal transition)
- Loneliness Awareness Week – Seniors (key segment)
- Fall GenWell Weekend – All Canadians (seasonal transitions)
- Talk To A Stranger Week – Occasion (opportunity to build many personal and health benefits)
- Monthly GenWell Digital Detox Day – All Canadians (The barrier of technology)
For more information, or to connect with us online, please visit www.genwell.ca.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Jamie Deans
647.284.7710
About Genwell
A registered Canadian non-profit organization, Genwell (formerly The GenWell Project) is a grassroots Global Human Connection Movement, whose mission is to make the world a happier and healthier place by educating people about the importance of face-to-face social connection as a proactive step to improve our overall health, happiness, and longevity, as well as for those around us. The organization shares information, research, tips, tools and motivation through its social channels and website to help people create healthy connection habits. It also activates around two weekends a year – spring and fall – when it sets out to be the catalyst that triggers people to reach out and get connected face-to-face with family, friends, neighbours, classmates and colleagues. Learn more at genwell.ca.
