Together at Home: Innovations in Housing and Loneliness Reduction

Join us for an inspiring networking and learning event, organised by the Public Health team of Tower Hamlets Council. This event brings together VCS, NHS, and Council staff working on combating loneliness and social isolation in Tower Hamlets. Discover innovative strategies, share resources, and build meaningful connections. Light lunch available.

Agenda:

9.45 am – Doors open with tea and coffee
9.50-10.15 am – Introduction and Networking
Kick off the day with an ice-breaker activity to spark connections.

Session 1:

10.15-10.25 am –Innovative Housing and Tackling Loneliness
Keynote by Kath Scanlon, Deputy Director at the London School of Economics. Kath will present insights from the LSE-led research “Those Little Connections: Community Led Housing and Loneliness”, part of the Government's Loneliness Strategy.

Learn what community-led housing is and how it reduces loneliness compared to conventional housing. Shared spaces, communal activities, and gradual trust-building within communities create a sense of belonging, where residents look out for one another, providing both practical and emotional support. The features of Community Led Housing—such as resident control and well-designed spaces for social interaction—could be incorporated into more traditional housing developments to help combat loneliness on a larger scale. We will explore how these ideas can be applied to create more connected and supportive living environments.

10.25-10.45 am – Q&A session, table discussions
10.45-11.00 am – Tea break

Session 2:

11.00-11.50 am - Interactive Workshop: Finding and Engaging Diverse and Harder to Reach Groups
Led by The Good Practice Mentors, this session dives into practical techniques for finding and engaging diverse and harder to reach groups. It will demonstrate how you can invite them to share their voice in the work you do, to shape and improve your services. This session will boost your confidence in engaging with your communities.

Learn about the psychology of loneliness and how it prevents people from engaging, how to adapt your comms to help draw people in, how to create spaces where everyone feels welcome and create opportunities for honest engagement. Gain tools and tips for capturing the voice of the people you work with.

Presenters:

• Jennie Shrewsbury (Good Practice Mentor Programme Lead, South Yorkshire Housing Association).
• Jessica Duffy (Good Practice Mentor, Leeds Older People’s Forum).

Campaign Launch:

11.50-12.15 pm – Just Say Hello Winter Campaign
Be part of the exciting relaunch of our winter campaign, aimed at reducing loneliness in our communities. (Bring a big bag to take your Just Say Hello box back)

12.15-12.20 pm – Conclusion and feedback
12.20-12.45 pm – Networking and hot lunch

Host or Publisher Tower Hamlets CVS