Black Women's Link Project: Loneliness Discussions

Black Women’s Link Project

The Black Women’s Link Project is about linking women together to share ideas, experiences, and stories. This is done by providing a safe space for them to express concerns. Through talking and listening to the group, can address and resolve unhelpful patterns of behaviour and thinking, relieve isolation, increase self-esteem and improve self-awareness.

Why are we creating this group?

The Black Women’s Link Project (BWLP) plan is to create a community network that in turn creates a social link to reduce loneliness among Black women. The project is about linking Black women together to talk about loneliness and social isolation and encouraging them to share ideas and personal experiences, if they chose to do so and to provide a safe space for women to express their concerns.

Age UK defines 'isolation' as separation from social or familial contact, community involvement, or access to services, while 'loneliness' can be understood as an individual's personal, subjective sense of lacking these things.

According to the Holt-Lunstad, {2015}, “loneliness can increase risk of death by 26%, obesity (Holt-Lunstad, 2010)”, coronary heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, and loneliness and social isolation and risk of cognitive decline and dementia.

In a social study by UCL researchers as part of the Covid-19, "women have found the Covid-19 pandemic more challenging than men psychologically, reporting higher levels of depression, anxiety, and loneliness". Also, a study from BAME backgrounds reported that pandemic has affected BAME group's mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, self-harm, abuse, and loneliness than any other groups across every measure throughout the pandemic.

The Black Women’s Link Project is about linking women together to share ideas, experiences, and stories. This is done by providing a safe space for them to express concerns. Through talking and listening to the group, can address and resolve unhelpful patterns of behaviour and thinking, relieve isolation, increase self-esteem and improve self-awareness.

Linking together agenda

• Discussion about raise awareness to reduce the stigma about loneliness

• Encouraging women to talk about being lonely, community involvement

• Empower women to find friendship within the community

• Signposting information to access community resources

• Having conversations over tea/coffee, hearing inspiring talks with Professionals.

• Having the Talk4Health program peer-to-peer counselling sessions ‘therapeutic talk’.

• Support women to be open and honest to be themselves

• Being able to network with professionals who could potentially support group needs.