Across the country, small groups are working to rebuild social connection amid rising loneliness in their own modest ways. It sounds simple — building relationships. But they’re up against powerful cultural forces.
By many measures, Americans are socially disconnected at historic levels. They’re joining civic groups, clubs, and unions at lower rates than in generations. Recent polling shows that membership rates in religious congregations are around the lowest in nearly a century. Americans have fewer close friends than they used to and trust each other less. They've also been hanging out less in shared public places like coffee shops and parks.
About one in six adults feels lonely all or most of the time. It’s the same for about one in four young adults. No one has a simple solution. But small groups with diverse missions and makeups recognize that social disconnection is a significant part of the problems they’re trying to address, and reconnection is part of the solution.
There’s a Baltimore neighborhood trying to build a culture of giving and mutual support, a Pittsburgh ministry focused on healing those wounded by poverty and violence. In Kentucky, a cooperative is supporting small farmers to strengthen their rural communities, while groups in Ohio are restoring neighborhoods and neighborliness.
“We need to build a movement centered around connection,” former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy stated. “The good news is that that movement is already starting to build. … What we have to do now is accelerate that movement.”
Finding ‘personal connections’ in Akron
Murthy recently met with groups working toward community repair in Akron, Ohio, as part of his new Together Project, supported by the Knight Foundation. In one meeting, leaders of the Well Community Development Corp. discussed fostering affordable housing and small businesses in a marginalized neighborhood while cultivating social gatherings.
One encouraging development is that families have resumed trick-or-treating after years of dormancy in the neighborhood. “Those types of things make a big difference,” said Zac Kohl, executive director of The Well. “It’s not just a safe, dry roof over your head. It’s the personal connections.”
Neighbors ‘responsible for each other’ in Baltimore
On an October afternoon on Baltimore’s outskirts, neighbors set out trays heaped with vegan jambalaya, beet salad, fresh-roasted goat meat, and more. Ulysses Archie discussed how this short block of Collins Avenue became a hub of backyard farming and environmental cleanup.
At the neighborhood’s “Peace Park,” formerly an abandoned lot, food distributions and summer camps for kids now take place. Residents describe their “intentional” community, committed to caring for one another and sharing resources.
Connecting to the land and each other in Kentucky
In New Castle, Kentucky, a local farmers' cooperative hosts a “Beef Bash” to promote solidarity among its members while offering freshly prepared meals. The cooperative aims to provide stability and mutual support among farmers, revitalizing the community.
“With just a little help, people and land can heal,” said Mary Berry, executive director of the Berry Center. Stronger farms can strengthen these communities, emphasizing the importance of connections to each other and their land.
Healing ‘block by block’ in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh’s Neighborhood Resilience Project focuses on community healing through trauma-informed initiatives. They aim to counter social isolation, which is felt broadly, by creating real community connections among diverse residents.
“It has to be healed person by person, relationship by relationship, block by block,” Rev. Paul Abernathy explained. “Honestly, neighborhood by neighborhood, it can be healed.”
