From 14 to 20 October, the Week Against Unwanted Loneliness was held, which Sant Joan de Déu has launched once again. The aim of this campaign is to raise awareness about what it means to feel alone when you need the company or support of others; however, it also wants to mobilize people, entities and companies to collaborate in break with this loneliness. It is an invisible scourge, but one that affects people's emotional well-being and that, right now, is a cross-cutting element that affects people of all ages and social conditions. In fact, in Europe more than 30 million people say they feel lonely, and one in four admits to suffering from unwanted loneliness. This reality goes beyond the elderly and affects people of all ages and conditions. Unfortunately, when vulnerable groups suffer from it, loneliness multiplies.
This year, Esperança en Línia, which knows the unwanted loneliness, joined this campaign in which they also participate – apart from theSocial Work of Saint John of God – the Marianao Foundation i Red Cross. The organization was present at the inaugural event in Plaça Universitat in Barcelona, where some volunteers also actively participated. Thus, more than a hundred people approached and were encouraged to talk to strangers in this central square. At each table there was a volunteer willing to share concerns and experiences related to loneliness with anyone who wanted to sit and spend some time.
From 12 o'clock, theSocial Work SJD in collaboration with the newspaper Ara, they set up a stage where they continued to reflect on how loneliness impacts us and how it can be combated. The event, presented by the newspaper's deputy director Carla Turró, gave voice to volunteers who accompany people who feel lonely; users and professionals from the Sant Joan de Déu centers; the Health Councilor of the Barcelona City Council, Marta Villanueva; the sociologist Sandra Escapa; the journalist Elisenda Roca; the philosopher Leo Espluga as well as Mireia Anglès, responsible for the Hope Phone and the emotional support chats aimed at adolescents and young people who have joined the campaign. The morning ended with the group Xiula performing Too much loneliness, the song they created for the occasion, explaining in the first person how it feels to suffer from loneliness, how they become aware of what it means and the small gestures that help overcome this feeling.