His own “lonely and isolated” mother inspired Michael Lavilles to want to help others in a similar predicament.
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Martin Bragger himself feels a “tinge of loneliness” being so far away from his family in the United Kingdom.
Together the men have set up a group in the Illawarra’s northern suburbs, to help others in their community dealing with loneliness, considered by many experts including Mr Bragger to be a “global health epidemic”.
He points to a recent Red Cross survey which showed widespread, large and growing problems of loneliness in Australia.
Almost 1.5 million or seven per cent of Australians said they were lonely all the time and another 3.5 million (16 per cent) said that they were lonely for at least some of the time, in the Australian Red Cross Loneliness Survey conducted in October 2017.
Mr Bragger believes this is a problem throughout western society in general as reflected by the UK government’s recent decision to appoint a ‘Minister for Loneliness’.
But he understands communities have a role to play in addressing the issue, that’s why Mr Bragger hopes Not Alone, will be the first of many groups operating in the Illawarra.
“The name is based on the biblical statement that “It is not good for man to be alone” and indicates the desire of the group to provide a place where people can come and meet that most basic of human needs, that of company and social interaction, indeed “just having someone to talk to”, Mr Bragger said.
People aren’t just going to come out and say I’m lonely.
- Martin Bragger
“It will also be a place to discuss various topics of interest that the members might wish.”
And while he agrees the conversation around loneliness has become less stigmatised, “people aren’t just going to come out and say I’m lonely”.
“That’s why this initiative is important. We need to build a relationship with people before they will open up,” Mr Bragger said.
Mr Lavilles added offering free coffee and a convenient place to meet was a good start.
The father of five has a long history of running and supporting community initiatives which help families in need and the homeless.
But through observation and social interaction with locals, Mr Lavilles found that in his ‘’affluent’’ Illawarra suburb, loneliness and isolation was a big problem, especially with the elderly.
“I tried to address this problem online through my MARY initiative but it didn’t work,” he said.
“But I realised in the process that while giving people physical hand outs was well and good, it is quite limited in terms of the totality of what people really need….a lot of time people just want to talk.”
Mr Bragger added loneliness also effected young people, especially single mothers.
“That’s why our group welcomes all people,” he said.
Not Alone meets fortnightly at Cafe Mia in the Thirroul Community Centre, with future plans to run it every Friday.
Call Mr Bragger on 0410 492 546 for details.