Loneliness and social isolation can harm people’s health and wellbeing. The COVID 19 pandemic and lockdowns have made it harder for people to maintain social connections, increasing the risk of isolation and loneliness. While acknowledging the need for early intervention to prevent more serious harm, statutory agencies have limited resources to address loneliness and social isolation directly. There has been a recognition in recent years of the important role that community-based approaches can play in building social connections and resilience.

Ageing Better in Birmingham is funded by The National Lottery Community Fund and aims to reduce loneliness and social isolation among people over 50. The programme takes an asset-based approach, meaning it focuses on making the best use of the strengths and resources of communities and citizens. The programme activities include support and micro-funding for small and informal groups that
bring people together, local action plans (LAPs) to create longer-term change in priority communities and communication campaigns that challenge negative notions of ageing and encourage people to connect with others. The programme is underpinned by a commitment to co-production – working in partnership with older people with experience of social isolation to design and deliver the programme. This
report draws together key findings from across the five years of the programme evaluation to date – the programme has a further year still to run.

Read the full report