On 21 November 2024, RECETAS Coordinator Pr Jill Litt takes part of a Public Hearing organized as a follow-up to the @EuropeanParliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) pilot project on « Loneliness in the European Union ».
This 3-year pilot project has made significant strides, including the first-ever EU-wide survey interviewing 26,000 citizens, revealing that 50 million people feel lonely. The findings will be published in an upcoming book by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the DG Employment of the European Commission.
Professor Jill Litt gets to share the insights from the RECETAS project and highlight our innovative Friends in Nature method, during the second panel of the hearing: « Policy interventions and good practices: What works to address loneliness? ».
Loneliness is a gowing public health concern in the European Union, with many consequences (psychological, economic…).
- 13% of the EU-wide survey respondents experienced loneliness « most of the time ».
- Over one-third felt lonely at least occasionally.
- Young adults, people experiencing impacting life events (job loss, separation), and people with fewer meaningful relationships are at higher risk.
The COVID-19 pandemic worsened the issue, due to social distancing and restrictions, which specifically affected younger populations. However, loneliness does not impact one single demographic group; people of all ages are at risk, though geographic and socioeconomic status are important factors.
Going forward
Policy discussions at the EU level stress the importance of
- integrating loneliness interventions across various sectors
- improving data collection to better understand its causes
- fostering community-oriented solutions
Efforts are also underway to develop systematic programs addressing loneliness, as existing interventions are often local and fragmented.
The RECETAS project
Born from this context, RECETAS champions community-driven approaches to tackle loneliness, combining robust data, innovative methods, and collaborative solutions.
Learn more about loneliness in Europe and explore impactful solutions, check the resources in the comments for further details.
For a more connected and supportive society ! #Loneliness #EU #RECETAS #PublicHealth #CommunitySolutions #SocialImpact
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