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  • Home
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    • Education
    • CT Collab End Loneliness
    • Social Connections
    • Unite by Light
    • Tea at 3
    • Chairish the Moment
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    • Gathering Table
    • Bridges to Better Health
    • 100th Day of School
  • Take Action
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    • Pledge birthday
    • Purchase with purpose
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Social connection protects our health, lives, and communities.

Someone dies from loneliness or social disconnectedness every 3 minutes.

The U.S. government estimates that 162,000 Americans die every year from loneliness and social isolation. That is greater than the number of Americans who die annually from lung cancer or stroke. 


More than 60% of Americans report feeling lonely. That's more than 200 million people. And in Connecticut alone, that's 2.1 million people. Those same people lack the opportunity for meaningful social interactions on a regular basis. 


Our communities have become segregated by age over the past 50 years, which has resulted in an increase in isolation and loneliness among older adults. And young adults are now feeling more lonely than older adults. 


Isolation and loneliness have been identified as key social determinants of overall health, negatively impacting the mental and physical health of people of all ages. 


Loneliness and social isolation are associated with a reduced lifespan of 15 years! That's equal to someone smoking 15 cigarettes/day - and greater than someone with obesity. Loneliness raises blood pressure and increases inflammation in the body, and is also linked to an increased risk of anxiety, depression, Type 2 diabetes, leukemia, heart disease, dementia, substance abuse, and suicide. 


In addition, loneliness reduces student academic performance and employee engagement.


And loneliness and isolation increase the risk of financial exploitation and fraud.

Loneliness increases healthcare spending.

Medicare spends about $134 more each month for every lonely older adult than for every socially connected older adult. That adds up to an extra $6.7 billion of spending each year in the USA. 

Social health is a vital human need for all of us.

Social health is the dimension of our health that comes from connection and community. We are social beings. We are meant to be together, to connect with one another in positive ways that offer comfort and a sense of belonging. 


Harvard University's 90-year-study on happiness demonstrates that it is our relationships that determine how well - and how long - we live. Social health influences and interacts with our mental and physical health to determine our overall health. 


Connecting with others improves our mental, physical, and social health and increases community cohesion. Connecting across generations enhances that effect by changing perceptions of aging.

Intergenerational connection deepens relationships and transforms how we value every stage of life.

Cognitive health

Community cohesion

Cognitive health

Holding a negative attitude toward our own aging is a risk factor for cognitive disorders as we age. 

Positive attitudes about aging reduce the risk of dementia.

Life expectancy

Community cohesion

Cognitive health

Internalizing the negative stereotype of aging to define oneself results in longevity deficits.

Older adults with positive perceptions of aging live 7.5 years longer. 

Community cohesion

Community cohesion

Community cohesion

Age segregation results in different ages seeing each other as rivals for community assets.

As age barriers disappear and ageism abates, residents unite around shared goals.

How do we connect people and communities?

Learn more

Here are three ways that you can help.

Give $25 and change someone's life.

DONATE

Pledge your next birthday to connect the generations.





PLEDGE

Buy a reusable bag at Big Y or Stop & Shop and use the Giving Tag to send us $1.

We're just getting started!

If our mission resonates with you, we'd love to connect. 

Please reach out to start a conversation about how we can work together to empower people to connect, end loneliness and ageism, and improve health.

Join Us On Our Mission

© 2024 | For All Ages, Inc., PO Box 61, Simsbury CT 06070 | A US 501(c)(3) public charity, Federal EIN 83-4624076.

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