Two hundred people joined an online conversation hosted by Cornwall Council last week to help find ways communities can best tackle loneliness and social isolation.

During the conversation people talked about what loneliness means to them and shared ideas on how to reduce loneliness in the future.

Participants described the live crowdsourcing event as ‘thought provoking’, ‘valuable’, and ‘interesting’.

Many defined loneliness as a feeling of not belonging, ‘not having anyone to talk to’, or ‘not being part of things.’

When asked what people need from others when they are lonely, many participants prioritised ‘friendship, emotional support, and social interaction’.

Most people agreed that coffee mornings and libraries are a good way of reducing loneliness, other ideas included ‘sit down yoga, childhood song sessions and pet therapy’

Cornwall Council Cabinet member for adults, Rob Rotchell said: ‘Judging by the  high engagement and breadth of insights participants shared during this event, loneliness is an issue a great many people care about and want to find solutions to.

‘Loneliness  is a challenging issue for Cornwall as we have an aging population and our towns and villages are geographically spread out.

‘We hope the findings from this event and future planned focus groups will raise awareness of this important issue, and help us to join forces with communities across Cornwall to find workable, innovative solutions to loneliness that support people in their local area.’

Information from the event will now be analysed and later made available on the council’s website.