Meeting loneliness together: MEA marks Loneliness Awareness Week 2025 with community events

Mayor, Jackson Minford, pictured along with Anne O'Reilly, Chair of Northern Health & Social Care Trust, Marjorie Hawkins, Chair of M&E Antrim Loneliness Network, Bernadette Conway, ME&A District Manager and members from the Loneliness Network.

Mid and East Antrim Loneliness Network has brought the community together during Loneliness Awareness Week 2025 (9–15 June) by hosting a series of free events designed to promote connection, wellbeing, and support across the Borough.

Held in local libraries, the events were part of a collaborative effort to raise awareness of loneliness and encourage residents to engage with one another through shared experiences.

Each event featured a guided walk, a live musical performance, and a creative art workshop, offering participants a chance to socialise in a relaxed, welcoming environment.

In addition to these activities, attendees had the opportunity to meet their local Connect North Link Worker, who provided information on services and community groups aimed at tackling loneliness. Residents also took part in the new Libraries NI Kindness Postboxes, a heartfelt initiative encouraging people to exchange kind messages.

The events, hosted by the Mid and East Antrim Loneliness Network, align with the mission of the national Loneliness Awareness Week, now in its ninth year. The campaign is led by the Marmalade Trust, a UK charity dedicated to raising awareness and addressing loneliness across all age groups.

“The events aimed to tackle loneliness and reduce isolation by creating opportunities to talk and interact,” organisers said.

Founded in December 2019, the Mid and East Antrim Loneliness Network includes a range of community, voluntary and statutory organisations united in their efforts to combat loneliness.

The Network is working through its 2024/25 action plan, which features a maintenance programme for Chatty Benches—dedicated seating areas encouraging conversation—and a social media campaign planned for 2025 to extend the reach of its message.

Loneliness Awareness Week is a call to action, inviting everyone to help build supportive communities through simple, honest conversations.