At Justlife, we see the transformative value of the Social Connection Project (SCP) every day. An external evaluator agrees, highlighting that it saves the public purse money, increases resilience and wellbeing for participants and volunteers, and reduces repeat homelessness.
“Some things I just can’t put into words. I can just keep saying that I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn't for Justlife, I’ll just keep saying it”.
SCP participant
A simple but powerful idea
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recognises loneliness and social isolation as a public health priority, exacerbating existing problems, whether physical, mental or practical. Severe loneliness can reduce a lifespan as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
We see through our frontline work how prevalent loneliness and social isolation is among the people we support. This was particularly clear during the pandemic, and so, in 2020, the idea for the Social Connection Project was born. The project has been growing ever since - in strength, demand and activities - and now includes a variety of activities to suit different needs. These include:
Matching isolated people moving out of homelessness with volunteer befrienders for a weekly social of their own choice;
A wellbeing programme, where people engage in group activities such as a walk in the countryside, a creative art session or a visit to the table tennis club;
A peer support and social group, where participants meet up weekly to share issues and support;
A monthly women's group and an LGBTQ+ support group;
Ongoing one-to-one sessions with the SCP staff, tailored to the clients’ needs;
SCP volunteers on the Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP) have co-produced a new training module on homelessness in Brighton, including structure, content, and delivery approach.
While it may sound essentially unserious to go for a walk in the park or attend an arts session, activities like these can reduce repeat homelessness and the need for other overstretched services, while giving people dignity and a sense that there is a way forward.
It’s a win-win.
“Without [Justlife/the Social Connection Project] I probably would be back on the street by now”.
SCP participant
The people at the heart of the project
Participants in the various SCP projects are in very different places on their ‘homelessness journey’. While the project started with people moving on from homelessness, many of the current clients are still in temporary or emergency accommodation, where they have been placed while waiting for permanent housing.
What unites them is that they often feel alone, isolated and stuck in a system that does not cater to their needs.
For people in temporary accommodation, it is well documented that an under-resourced and overstretched system can leave people in unsuitable accommodation for years, keeping people in an acute ‘stress-response’-mode that is damaging to their physical and mental health.
And while you might think that people moving into their own flat after experiencing homelessness should now be fine, you’d underestimate the continued underlying needs, the confusion and the service ‘cliff-edge’ many experience at a point when the relative safety can mean that all the defences, kept through the period of acute stress, come crashing down.
Add limited opportunity for socialising, often stemming from, or spilling over into, problems with their mental health, and the loneliness can become damaging.
“Without the Social Connection Project’s intervention, I would probably have ended my life”.
SCP participant
Success is not inevitable
While the idea is good, success is not inevitable. With different life experiences and needs, including a range of mental health issues, each client is carefully assessed through one-to-ones with the SCP Manager to ascertain their needs, desires and limitations, and how that might fit with what the SCP can offer. Often engagement starts slowly and increases as trust and confidence builds. The pace is set by the client’s needs.
This is unusual, but relationship building is exactly what makes Justlife’s frontline work so successful. To rebuild trust that has often been eroded by life events and underfunded public services, each participant is given the time and choice they need to grow in confidence. This looks different for each client, and requires a depth of skills and experience from staff, alongside the ability to adapt on the spot when circumstances change.
Credit must also go to the many wonderful and dedicated volunteers, some of them previous participants, without whom the Social Connection Project would look very different.
“I think volunteering [with the Social Connection Project] taught me a lot about compassion and resilience. It’s given me a real sense of purpose knowing that I make some difference in another person’s life”.
SCP volunteer befriender
And to the participants themselves, who continue to help the project succeed and grow into new areas through their engagement, skills and ideas. All activities under the SCP umbrella, except for the original befriending idea, have been initiated by them.
“The Social Connection Project has a strong track record of meaningfully involving beneficiaries in the running of the project”
Jo Ryan, evaluation author
The SCP in numbers
This carefully nurtured collaboration between staff, volunteers and participants, and the skills and experience they all bring, is a powerful resource that helps the project grow in activities as well as impact. With only a small team of one full time and two part time staff, the SCP can boast impressive numbers. The evaluation, covering the last two years, has identified:
87 people supported through various projects of the SCP, 43 volunteers engaged, including in 40 befriending matches
76% of beneficiaries reported experiencing improvements in their social networks and relationships in year 1, as well as receiving more local support. In year 2, this increased to 81%.
90% of beneficiaries reported being less socially isolated after receiving support in year 1. This increased to 100% in year 2.
71% of beneficiaries reported experiencing improved mental health in year 1, which increased to 81% in year 2.
20 SCP clients have gone on to take up volunteer roles within Justlife (three have become SCP volunteers), 9 have taken up volunteer opportunities with other organisations, two have accessed employment and one has attended university.
2.3% of beneficiaries (two out of 87) have lost their accommodation (both leaving rehab placements). No other SCP clients have been evicted. From what is known through public data collection, repeat homelessness stands at 16%.
“I honestly feel optimistic about my future and have many more reasons to live than to die”
SCP participant
The evaluation report confirms what we already knew; the project is completely transformative for participants, while at the same time reducing the strain on public services.
Taking what is known from research about the costs associated with severe loneliness to productivity and public services like the NHS, the evaluation concludes that the SCP has “saved NHS and mental health services alone £74,205” and represents good value for money.
“This evaluation has found that the Social Connection Project has clear positive benefits for people moving on from homelessness in Brighton, including improvements in social connectedness, confidence, physical and mental health, and resilience, which all reduce the likelihood of people returning to homelessness”
Jo Ryan, evaluation author
But more than that, the project brings joy, confidence and hope to participants and volunteers alike. Turns out we can make the world a better place, one social connection at a time.
