NO ONE WILL MISS JOBS:

According to Julie Vorsaa, volunteer coordinator for Ventilen, the idea for the organization can be traced back to 1999, when two volunteers (whose names no one remembers) were working for a help line. They noticed a lot of people weren't as much in need of help as they were in need of friends. They were lonely, and the help line could only be a band-aid, not a cure. They formed a support group called Bright Point, aimed at facilitating IRL conversation. But when people came together, no one talked. The idea seemed destined to fail. 

Then someone had the idea of introducing games. "They had a catalyst, and they started to talk over the game," she says. Later, the group added the idea of making meals, and then exercising. "They found out food was a good thing to bring people together," she says. "You talk when you eat. It's more cozy."

Since 2011, Ventilen, which gets funding from the government and private donors, has been measuring its results. Through 2017, nearly 700 people had participated in Ventilen (55.7% men, 44.3% women), with the average age being 20.9. According to its self-reported survey, 70% of participants said they felt less lonely after coming, while 74% reported higher self-worth after coming. Sixty-four percent said they were better at social situations, and 80% said they were more likely to meet other people. 

About one in 10 young people in Denmark report that they are lonely. While this may seem surprising in a country that is frequently rated one of the happiest in the world, it mirrors data from around the world showing a spike in loneliness among the young as well as the old.

While some argue there is no new crisis of loneliness, Murthy says a few things are contributing to raised awareness of the problem. More people are talking about it, creating a snowball effect, while research is showing its ill effects on health and well-being. "It's not new--people have been lonely for hundreds of years," he says. "But I think the fact that it is an almost universal experience makes it easier for people to be open to thinking about it, even if they don't want to talk about it."

The program is not without challenges. Many lonely people may too intimidated to come to a venue; some who come won't return. But designating a space for gathering and having activities to bring people together is an effective way to tackle loneliness, says Claire O'Shea, a campaign manager for the UK's Campaign to end Loneliness. "You can't just bring a roomful people together, you have to find a common purpose," she says. "It takes the pressure off finding something to say, and that's talking about the moment, or the activity." She cites Men's Sheds, an organization that promotes community spaces for men to "connect, converse and create." They gather in areas--empty offices, portable cabin's, warehouses, garages, and in one case, an out-of-use mortuary--to do things like woodworking, metalworking, and repairing and restoring things. They're also there to be together.

Tweet   @brothersjudd