Loneliness Awareness Week
Hosted by Marmalade Trust
What is Loneliness Awareness Week?​
Loneliness Awareness Week is a week dedicated to raising awareness of loneliness. Its all about creating supportive communities by having conversations with family, friends or colleagues about loneliness. Loneliness is a natural human emotion - we are hardwired to need social connections. By talking about it, we can support ourselves and others.
​
The campaign centres on a powerful message which resonates with many - we've trended on Twitter, reached 271.5 million people in one week with the campaign, and each year we've seen tens of thousands of organisations, charities and individuals get involved, including the Royal Family, the Prime Minister, Major of London, NHS trusts, and all Government departments.
​
​
Who runs the campaign?
Marmalade Trust is the UK’s leading loneliness charity offering support for all ages and the only charity in the world specifically dedicated to raising awareness of loneliness. We launched Loneliness Awareness Week (‘LAW’) in 2017 and it grows in momentum each year across the UK and internationally.
How can I get involved?
Loneliness Awareness Week is an opportunity to create supportive communities and connections by having conversations with family, friends, neighbours or colleagues about loneliness. Loneliness is a natural and universal human emotion. By talking about it, we can support ourselves and others and help create a connected society.
Please sign up for our newsletter to stay updated on plans to make the next Loneliness Awareness Week the biggest and boldest yet.
​
​
What sort of things happen during Loneliness Awareness Week?
So much happens during Loneliness Awareness Week, the only limit is imagination! From coffee mornings and book clubs to walking clubs and art workshops, to neighbourhood bake sales and speed friending. There are designated chatty tables in cafes and pubs, businesses putting loneliness on their meeting agenda, radio stations having honest and open conversations about loneliness, laughter yoga, swing dancing, shared office lunches and cook-offs.
Thousands of pounds have been raised in the last six years during Loneliness Awareness Week and thousands of people have connected to share stories and conversations that reduce stigma and raise awareness.
Previous campaigns
Our 2023 campaign, titled 'Connection Matters', centred around the importance of everyday moments of connection.
​The campaign was a huge success, and we reached 268 million people with our messaging. Thank you to everyone who got involved! Read more >>
Why is raising awareness so important?
Whilst we’re seeing an increase in discussion on the subject, stigma remains and there are some key misconceptions that still need to be challenged. Ask anyone to picture a lonely person and most will imagine an older person living on their own. As such, we often rebuke and dismiss feelings of loneliness because ‘that doesn’t apply to me’.
By identifying and acknowledging all the times that we have personally felt and experienced loneliness, we can start to change our viewpoint, accept it and understand how to take action to manage the feeling (and our social connections) in the future.
Stay up to date about Loneliness Awareness Week
We'd love to keep you in the loop with our plans for Loneliness Awareness Week 2024. Sign up below for occasional email updates.