ACS has welcomed the publication of the Tackling Loneliness Network Action Plan, highlighting the positive role that local shops play in tackling loneliness in communities.
The Action Plan brings different sectors together to share expertise and consider ways to reduce loneliness in four key areas: loneliness in young people; loneliness in older people; local and place based approaches to tackling loneliness; and digital inclusion.
Figures from the 2020 Local Shop Report show that convenience stores are the top local service when it comes to having a positive impact on the community, and over a third of convenience store customers know the people working in their local shop either very well or quite well. The full Local Shop Report is available here.
ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “Convenience stores have a unique reach into their local communities and play a key role in the lives of their customers. Our sector not only provides essential products and services to the communities that they serve, they also provide a valuable source of social interaction for people visiting the store, especially those who may be more vulnerable or isolated.”
New guidance for employers on tackling loneliness is available here, focusing on five areas to identify and deal with loneliness in the workplace:
- Culture and infrastructure: Identifying what really matters to employees and aligning with corporate values and embedding loneliness into other wellbeing and welfare activities.
- Management: The kinds of support and guidance which can help managers to identify and help the people working for them who are experiencing loneliness and the training that managers might need.
- People and networks. How people have used networks to tackle loneliness including whilst working remotely.
- Work and workplace design. How employers have tackled a dispersed workforce and the tools and systems which can promote visibility and connections.
- Wider role in the community. How some employers have sought to tackle loneliness beyond our immediate workforce
ACS is currently producing specific guidance for its members on wellbeing and tackling loneliness, and is a founding signatory to the Tackling Loneliness Champions Pledge, sharing learning and best practice from the sector on tackling loneliness.
