A warning, this story contains references to suicide. New research has revealed one in four Australians are experiencing persistent loneliness with cost-of-living pressures contributing to social isolation. But a new community initiative in one city is helping to connect people yearning for a sense of belonging.
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00:00Living in his car with his puppy Tasha made Brad Sullivan feel extremely isolated.
00:07Being by myself day in day out with no one to talk to.
00:12His loneliness was turning into severe depression.
00:15I was pretty down and out. I had nowhere to turn. I felt pretty suicidal.
00:22But he managed to turn that around by volunteering at a community centre called The Hut in Algate in the Adelaide Hills.
00:29Here a loneliness project was underway for women and there are now plans to expand it to men.
00:35The group brainstormed ways they could treat loneliness and came up with five initiatives
00:39ranging from cafe catch-ups to social activities like board games and soccer.
00:44Victoria Veach lives with ADHD and was one of the participants.
00:48It's been absolutely one of the highlights of my life.
00:51It took me years to learn how to make friends and then it took me even longer to learn how to maintain them.
00:59New research from the Ending Loneliness Together organisation found 26% of Australians feel persistently lonely
01:05with those struggling with the cost of living and people living with health conditions and disabilities more likely to be affected.
01:11Given that the epidemic of loneliness has really come about because of a number of small changes over time,
01:20turning around loneliness will be implementing a number of small changes, many, many small changes over time.
01:29It's something the South Australian State Government says it's taking seriously.
01:33Loneliness itself, if we can break that cycle and provide the opportunities for people,
01:40that really will contribute towards much better wellbeing and a better sense of self in our community.
01:46There are now hopes the Loneliness Pilot Project blueprint could be implemented in other community centres across Australia.