Friends for Good call for support to combat increasing loneliness in Australia

While presumably one of the happiest times of the year, loneliness pioneers and national not-for-profit, Friends for Good say this Christmas will be lonelier than most without Australia’s support.

Currently, an estimated 3 million Australians are experiencing high levels of loneliness and as Christmas festivities ramp up and another Covid wave looms, it can be a reminder for many people of how isolated they are.

This Christmas, Friends for Good has partnered with Subway® Australia to help make Christmas a little less lonely and raise much needed funds.

Not only is loneliness highly stigmatised, but the health impact loneliness can have is astonishing.

Research reveals loneliness is as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, is worse than obesity and those experiencing high levels of loneliness are more likely to suffer from dementia, heart disease and depression¹.

However, Friends for Good says there is plenty that can be done to change this.

Co-Founder of Friends for Good, Laura Rouhan said: “At Friends for Good our mission is to free people from loneliness and in order to do this, we need to break the stigma surrounding loneliness and connect people in our communities.”

“From our Time We Talked survey, more than 88% of Australians have felt lonely at some point in their life, 34% identify as lonely right now and 72% think it’s difficult to admit to being lonely.

“Seeing statistics like this and how prevalent loneliness is, it’s a clear signal that we need to speak and hear about this much more and this is exactly what Friends for Good is here to do.”

Friends for Good operate a 100% volunteer run, free anonymous phone service called FriendLine, available 7 days a week for 365 days per year and particularly on Christmas Day.

To help in their mission to break the stigma around loneliness, Friends for Good have partnered with Subway to launch a Merry Cookiemas film to remind people that a simple little Subway Cookie can help make Christmas a little less lonely.

Told through the lens of the lonesome Easter Bunny, arguably the loneliest character at Christmas, the film demonstrates the importance of checking in with friends through the festive season, even those that may seem the happiest, and the power that a simple visit, conversation or shared cookie can have. The film is available to view at www.e-bunny.com.au.

Through the E-Bunny website, direct donations can also be made to the Friends for Good charity allowing the organisation to increase their capacity to pay for calls answered by FriendLine and train up additional volunteers to support people experiencing loneliness.

Additionally, On Friday 9 December, Subway will launch a national cookie drive with proceeds from all cookie sales being donated to Friends for Good.

“Christmas is a reminder to help combat loneliness. We can call friends and family to check in on one another, drop by for a tea and cookie and most importantly, have a conversation, recognising that many of us have felt lonely at some point in our life,” said Rouhan.

“Since the COVID-19 pandemic we have seen demand for our services far exceed our resources and we are now in urgent need of financial support to meet the current demand and expand the FriendLine to those in need,” Rouhan said.

“We are thrilled to have the support of a global brand and our national partner, Subway Australia to help shine a light on loneliness, break the stigma and raise much needed funds for our FriendLine.”

Subway ANZ Head of Marketing, Rodica Titeica, said: “At Christmas, this year more than ever, we think a small gesture can make a big difference. We are so excited to be sharing our new Merry Cookiemas story alongside Friends for Good to help make Christmas a little less lonely this year.”

Visit any Subway Australia store on December 9 and purchase a Subway Cookie to support Friends for Good.

To make a direct donation, visit this page or to access the FriendLine, call: 1800 424 287.

¹ Source