Inner Sydney Voice is part of the Sydney Community Collaborative – a partnership between Inner Sydney Voice (ISV), Canterbury City Community Centre (4Cs), Ethnic Community Services (ECS), Newtown Neighbourhood Centre (NNC), and The Junction Neighbourhood Centre (JNC) – working together to address social isolation and loneliness among older people in Sydney.
Today, the Collaborative has released Older and Connected, a report by Michael Fine and Bob Davidson that examines the growing impacts of social isolation and loneliness on older people.
The report finds that:
- Older people remain a major and distinct group at risk of social isolation and loneliness.
- The growth of isolation has significant effects on health, wellbeing, social cohesion and government expenditure.
- Improving local social connections can delay or reduce the need for costly aged care and health services.
- Action is needed on two fronts – for those supported through the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) and for the 70% of older people who are not in the formal aged care system.
- Local community organisations are central to building neighbourhood-level systems of support.
The report calls for coordinated action from all levels of government to strengthen local responses and invest in community-led solutions.