Tackling loneliness through Social Connection

It’s Loneliness Awareness Week (June 10–16), a time to recognize that social isolation and loneliness are serious health concerns affecting many Veterans. At VA, we’re committed to connecting Veterans with the support they need to thrive.

We offer a range of programs and services to help Veterans build social connections and combat loneliness, including:

• Peer support groups: Connect with other Veterans who understand your experiences. For example, Veteran Socials uses peer supports to connect Veterans with community-based social events and activities.
• Mental health counseling: Talk to a professional about how you’re feeling. VA mental health counselors can help improve your social skills to build confidence in making connections.
• Social activities: Participate in events and outings to meet new people. Veteran Service Organizations host events and activities where you can socially connect. VA offers a range of in-person and virtual social activities, such as Arts, Adaptive Sports and Whole Health programs where you can socially connect.
• Volunteer opportunities: Give back to your community and build a sense of purpose. VA Center for Development and Civic Engagement offers a variety of volunteer opportunities.
• Compassionate Contact Corps: Connect with caring VA volunteers who will provide friendly phone calls or visits. Talk to your VA clinician about a referral to CCC.

On the latest episode of New Horizons in Health: Bringing Veteran Health Care into the Future, Under Secretary for Health Dr. Shereef Elnahal sat down with Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to talk about loneliness and the importance of social connection to mental and physical health.

Last year, Murthy laid out a framework for a National Strategy to Advance Social Connection, detailing recommendations that individuals, governments, workplaces, health systems and community organizations can take to increase connection in their lives, communities and across the country to improve their health. He explains his impetus for the advisory.

“They didn’t know people who knew them.”

“When I first began my tour of duty as Surgeon General, I started hearing from people around the country who were telling me stories that sounded like loneliness. I spoke to Veterans, actually, who told me that the intense feeling of community that they had when they were in the service, when they were deployed on tours of duty around the world, that that evaporated once they left the service. And even though they came back to a hometown that they knew, that seemed familiar, they didn’t have a sense of community. They didn’t know people who knew them,” he recalled.

Elnahal rounds out the conversation on this episode with Vietnam Veteran Randolph (Randy) Long to talk about his participation in the CCC, VA’s virtual social prescription program. Through this program, trained volunteers are matched with Veterans that are experiencing loneliness, or who are socially isolated, for weekly video or telephone calls.

These weekly chats have been shown to increase feelings of connection for both the participating Veterans and volunteers.

Long suggests to Veterans who might be interested in the CCC program, “It’s not going to hurt. It’s not going to be something that’s going to be harmful to you. It’s quite the opposite. It’s really going to be of benefit to you, maybe a little bit, maybe a whole lot. But it’s a tool that’s going to enable you to, for as long as you can, you know, get the most out of the life that you have left to live.”

If you are a Veteran struggling with loneliness, we encourage you to talk to your health care provider about opportunities for social connection at VA. Taking care of the physical, mental and social health needs of Veterans, their families and caregivers is VA’s top priority.

View the full episode on Youtube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.