Raising awareness of loneliness 'less of a battle' due to virus, says Minister

Speaking exclusively to The Yorkshire Post, which has been campaigning to raise awareness of loneliness since 2014, Baroness Diana Barran said demand on charities working to help those suffering from loneliness had increased during the lockdown, but that there was much to be learnt from the ways in which support services had adapted to the challenges created by the virus.

Tributes to the 'invaluable efforts' of thousands of volunteers across YorkshireThe government was the first in the world to appoint a Minister for Loneliness in January 2018 - a move by Theresa May in response to work by the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness, which said a national strategy should be created to combat loneliness, which affects nine million people in the UK and has damaging health effects.

The commission, which was co-chaired by Leeds West MP Rachel Reeves, was a continuation of the work by the murdered MP Jo Cox, first launched on the second anniversary of The Yorkshire Post’s campaign Loneliness: The Hidden Epidemic, in February 2016.

Baroness Barran said: “One of the challenges that we needed to overcome before coronavirus was convincing people that loneliness was an issue of the scale that we were worried about. We don’t need to make that argument in the same way at all any more.

“Many people will have experienced it personally - either because they have felt very lonely in the last few weeks or because somebody near or dear to them has.

"Previously our focus was on trying to reduce stigma around loneliness, and campaigns such as The Yorkshire Post’s have been super helpful in doing that too, in helping people to understand that it is entirely normal. We can continue to do that, but I think that is less of a battle today.

"What we need to do is hear what is really working to help address loneliness and then make sure people are aware and can copy it.”

Baroness Baron said one local befriending helpline had seen calls increase from 70 a month to 750. She praised the Jo Cox Foundation’s ‘Connection Coalition’, and Kirklees loneliness charity the Denby Dale Centre, which has “completely transformed” its service in just a few weeks to provide virtual support.

“There’s a huge demand that is increasing,” she said. “There’s a lot going on in terms of digital offerings that is really helpful. We are in extraordinary times and we’ve seen both charities and businesses work in different ways that we’ve never seen before. We need to try and capitalise on that.”

History of landmark role

Baroness Diana Barran was appointed as the country’s third Minister for Loneliness in July 2019, when she inherited the Civil Society brief from Conservative MP Mims Davies.

Minister for Loneliness Mims Davies on her own experiences of isolation and tackling "one of the biggest challenges" Britain hasThe post was created by Theresa May in January 2018 in response to the landmark report by the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness, which recommended creating such a position in order to put the issue at the heart of Government policy. Mrs May also credited The Yorkshire Post’s campaigning in influencing her decision.

The first loneliness minister, Tracey Crouch, who had been credited with bringing “energy and urgency” to the issue resigned in November 2018.

Theresa May praises Post for fight on lonely - as new minister admits there is no 'quick fix'Editor’s note: first and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.

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