Main content

The Town Trying to Cure Loneliness

In the town of Frome in the United Kingdom, a team of people is trying to tackle loneliness head on. We meet the specialist ‘connectors’, and the people they’re trying to help.

Loneliness and isolation can trigger a host of other problems, particularly for our health. But a town in Somerset, in the United Kingdom, appears to have taken a big step towards alleviating the problem. A team in Frome has implemented a handful of simple ideas – getting people to talk about the problems they face and finding ways for them to re-engage with family, friends or social clubs – and they believe it is having a dramatic effect. The cost of emergency admissions in Frome has fallen steeply, while it rises across most of the UK. We visit the town to meet the ‘connectors’ driving the project, and the people they have helped.

Presenter: Nick Holland

Photo caption: Susan Redding
Photo credit: Â鶹ÊÓƵAV

Release date:

Available now

24 minutes

People fixing the world on YouTube

Watch stories of people changing their world on the World Service English YouTube channel

Podcast