Programma
There are many misconceptions about loneliness. For example, it is often thought that if young people have few or no friends it is because they look different or isolate themselves from the group. Loneliness, however, is much more complex and has multiple causes.
Social Health Program
Loneliness is about feeling disconnected. You experience a lack of a close, emotional connection with others. Or you have less contact with other people than you would like. Loneliness is associated with negative feelings of fear, anger, sadness, meaninglessness and can involve both physical or psychological symptoms.
13% of young people between 15 and 25 feel very lonely, 32% feel somewhat lonely.
The longer loneliness lasts, the less likely people are to participate in social situations. It has also been shown that young people with limited social networks are less resilient.
The effects of loneliness are often underestimated. When young people are lonely for a long time it can have serious consequences. Loneliness can lead to mental problems such as depression, low self-esteem, reduced cognitive functioning and suicidal thoughts. Added to these are behavioral problems such as extreme gaming, excessive drinking, smoking and drug use. Physical problems can include increased stress reactions and sleep deprivation. Social problems such as increased need for care, dropping out of school and delinquency can also arise. These consequences are not only devastating for the young people themselves, they also directly affect healthcare costs within a community.
Join Us has developed a preventive program that is proven to reduce loneliness among young people. The program has now been successfully deployed in many Dutch municipalities. At its core are meetings, twice a month, for groups of up to 15 young people divided by age. When participants feel socially stronger they move on; most participate in the program for an average of one year.
Join Us trains and coaches local youth professionals in implementing the Join Us program through the Join Us Academy. In addition, Join Us has an online program, where groups of up to nine youth meet online once a week for four months. There is also the Join Us Community, a platform for youth who would like to connect more.
The Join Us Academy alines with our social health program because their expertise and methodology and its dissemination contribute to our goal to promote social relationships and connection; in this case specifically targeting young people.
We believe the Join Us Academy is an effective channel to inform professionals from a variety of disciplines about this issue and offer an action plan.
