Living on my own in the kingdom of loneliness for over three months has made me more aware of the pernicious effects of loneliness on health and wellbeing. It does not surprise me that the U.K now has a Minister of Loneliness, and that Prime Minister Theresa May has recently released a loneliness policy report: “A Connected Society: A Strategy for Tackling Loneliness—Laying the Foundations for Change” (October 15, 2018). May calls loneliness a “great public health challenge” and plans to have GPs within the NHS to be able to refer patients to community programs geared to ease loneliness.
Yesterday, I visited a long-standing (36 years) community cafe in Edinburgh that has been successfully combating loneliness among the elderly and people living with mental health challenges Located near the Royal Edinburgh Hospital, a long-standing mental health facility in the Morningside area of the city, the Open Door Cafe is a most welcoming place. From the high school student volunteer, Hamish, who greeted me and served me a great cuppa’ and scone, to the friendly regular customer/patrons who shared their stories with me, this was a place that warmed my heart. It also gives me hope that we can open the community Doorway Cafe in the University District of Seattle along similar lines. They use a pay-it-forward model and also have a robust group of volunteers to keep the place sustainable. In addition, they receive some funding from the NHS.
It also warms my heart to have discovered that the Open Door cafe was founded by an Edinburgh nurse, Peggy Hunter, all the way back in 1982. She said, “I have a dream to turn loneliness into fellowship, isolation into recognition…” and she has done just that.
I love their statement on their website in which they succinctly describe their cafe championing of diversity: “Of course, many people who use our services have a variety of support needs, so you may find having a cuppa is a different experience to that of your usual coffee shop. Can you open your mind to share some space with someone who is different from you?”
