Inclusion group launches with loneliness focus

THE City of Greater Geelong has launched its new Social Inclusion Action Group program with a community loneliness forum.

Co-hosted by the city and Friends for Good, participants at last week’s event explored the drivers of loneliness and social isolation that are specific to our region.

A quarter of the community reported feeling lonely in the Geelong Preventative Health Survey, with much higher levels for people with disability, young people, LGBTIQA+ individuals and single parents.

This work will inform development of community-driven strategies and actions that will support social connection, reduce exclusion, and promote mental wellbeing in our region.

Members were supported to attend the forum at Corio’s Korayn Birralee Family Centre with childcare, transport, quiet rooms, wheelchair access and other accessibility assistance offered to all participants.

Fifty community members from across Greater Geelong were selected from 122 expressions of interest, covering 34 suburbs and representing priority groups experiencing higher levels of loneliness and social isolation.

People with disabilities, younger people (16-25 years), single parents, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, LGBTQIA+ community members, older adults and culturally and linguistically diverse people were represented at the forum. This was to ensure perspectives were shared from groups in the community who are known to experience loneliness and social isolation at high levels.

A review of the application process uncovered the following statistics:

• 83 per cent have experienced loneliness or social isolation
• 67 per cent have experience of mental illness or mental ill-health
• 52 per cent have experience of unemployment
• 49 per cent are carers, and
• 26 per cent of applicants have lived in unstable housing.
• Geelong mayor Stretch Kontelj said there was a strong turnout to the loneliness forum.

“It was fantastic to see a broad representation of the Geelong region come together to share stories and expertise, and get to know each other.

“Over the next two years, the final Social Inclusion Action Group will identify local needs, review existing initiatives, and address gaps related to social inclusion.”

Cr Anthony Aitken, chair of the council’s disability access and inclusion portfolio, noted the high number of community members who put their hands up to drive positive change.

“I thank those who put themselves forward for our Social Inclusion Action Group, including those with lived experience of mental ill-health, addiction, social exclusion, isolation or discrimination,” Cr Aitken said.

“We need to draw from their experiences and knowledge to create targeted and local solutions to this growing problem in Australian society.”

The final Social Inclusion Action Group will be announced shortly and will use information collected at the forum, as well as the best available evidence, to decide on their priorities for the next two years.

The action group is funded by the Victorian government in response to the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System.