Held May 20, 2020
The notions of loneliness and social isolation have been clearly identified as vexing issues in human services today. We know that when people are rendered isolated, bad things can follow including adverse health issues, unhappiness/depression, challenges with life success, and even shortened life expectancy. We also know that marginalized groups, folks with disabilities, seniors, those in poverty, and other minorities, are at greater risk of being lonely, isolated, or disconnected.
This session will do a deep-dive into understanding social isolation. Not only will we look at the research and data related to this concept, but we will explore strategies, and actions that can be employed in addressing loneliness by having social capital principles work for the people you support. In an interactive format, we will examine ways and means to building more effective relationships possibilities.
Objectives:
- Participants will be introduced to recent data and research on isolation/loneliness
- Ways to explore and measure loneliness will be introduced
- The construct of social capital will be overviewed
- Relationship-building strategies to combat social isolation will be examined
Al Condeluci is the former CEO of CLASS, a nonprofit community-based support system for folks with all types of disabilities in Pittsburgh, PA from 1973 to 2018. He holds an MSW and PhD from the University of Pittsburgh, where he is on faculty in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and the School of Social Work. He has authored 7 books, including the acclaimed, Interdependence: The Route to Community (1991) and the most recent, The Macro Change Handbook (2015). To see Al Condeluci’s full bio, 