The latest Loneliness by Numbers snapshot, drawn from Uniting Communities’ long‑running tracking series now in its 14th wave, shows loneliness remains widespread across South Australia.

More than half of South Australians report feeling lonely at least sometimes, with the highest rates of people feeling lonely “often” since 2023.

The snapshot highlights stark differences across age groups, income levels and regions, and points to the structural pressures driving these trends — from cost‑of‑living stress to limited social infrastructure and regional disadvantage. It also sets out practical, community‑wide actions needed to reduce loneliness and strengthen social connection across the state.

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The team of Sparkies from Spark: Igniting Human Connect received an Active Citizenship Award at the 2026 Citizen of the Year Awards last week, for their amazing dedication to Spark.

These wonderful individuals devote their time and talents to building meaningful connections and reducing loneliness across the Adelaide Hills.

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The Community Connections Program South is hosting a Connecting Young Adults workshop to bring together young adults, community groups, service providers and local councils across southern Adelaide.

The session will focus on strengthening support for people aged 18–30, particularly those navigating major life transitions or moving beyond youth programs.

Participants will work together to map existing opportunities, identify gaps and emerging ideas, and share learnings across the region.

The session will be held on 16 February 2026, from 9.30am to 12.30pm at the Cove Civic Centre, Hallett Cove.

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The ALIVE National Centre’s A Part of the Crowd project is exploring how young people experience belonging, connection and community in everyday life.

The project works alongside young people to understand what helps them feel part of a crowd — and what gets in the way — with a focus on lived experience, creativity and co‑design.

Through workshops, storytelling and participatory research, the project is building a richer picture of how social connection is formed and how communities can better support it. Insights from this work will contribute to national efforts to strengthen social connection and reduce loneliness among young people.

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The Foundation for Social Connection has released its first US Social Isolation, Loneliness, and Connection (SILC) Ecosystem Map alongside a new State of the US Ecosystem Report.

Developed through a multi‑phase process across 2025, these resources offer the most comprehensive snapshot to date of the organisations, coalitions and initiatives working to strengthen social connection across the United States.

The report highlights growing public awareness and a strong evidence base linking social connection to health and wellbeing, while also noting a persistent gap between attention and action.

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