This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week is all about raising awareness of the impact of loneliness on our mental health, as well as the practical steps we can take to address it.

Tips for joining or building a community
Sometimes the first step in combatting loneliness involves finding your own community and even knowing who to reach out to. Whether you sit next to someone new in class, or go further afield and join a new club, there are plenty of ways to meet like-minded people who you can create meaningful connections with.

Here are some of our simple tips to help you start to meet people, build your own community, and foster a greater sense of belonging.

  1. Find out about what’s happening locally and try and attend.
  2. Spend some time volunteering. For example, dog walking, reading at a home for older people, at local charity.
  3. Organise a neighbourhood event. For example, for the Queen’s Jubilee.
  4. Smile and say hello to a neighbour.
  5. Organise a garage sale or a charity cake sale at your house.
  6. Find out if your place of worship needs any help.
  7. Join your local Park Run one Saturday morning—it’s free and fun!

Check out our post on reaching out and connecting with others to further help you combat loneliness.

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