Social Isolation and Loneliness are increasingly recognised as a public health crisis, and disabled people are twice as likely to face severe loneliness, according to NHS Scotland.
GDA’s programmes are all about bringing people together, by removing the barriers that cause this isolation: lack of accessible transport, support, and opportunities for social connection. Social connections have long since been deemed ‘non-critical’ in terms of social care support, meaning those who need support to get out, connect with others, participate and be included in their communities, are left to subsist on ‘life-and-limb’ cover at best: ‘Trapped within four walls, with no-one but the telly for company’, as one GDA member describes it.
GDA members have fed their lived experiences in to shape Scotland’s Social Isolation Strategy: A Connected Scotland, and continue to shape its implementation through the Ministerial group.
GDA members also contributed to Glasgow City Council’s Health and Inequality Commission, looking at loneliness, isolation and mental health needs among Glasgow’s Equalities communities. through our ongoing partnerships with Health and Social Care, and Glasgow Community Planning Partners, GDA members continue to highlight barriers at the root of the isolation and inequality we face, and continue to contribute ideas and push for solutions.
Watch one of our members, Paul, talking about his experience.
