Living in the countryside brings its own risks of isolation. The perception that close-knit rural communities provide a buffer against loneliness might be the reality in some areas but it\u2019s by no means true for all.<\/p>\n
Rural communities are becoming older communities as people move to the countryside to retire and young people, unable to afford the rising house prices, find they have to move out. In rural areas 23% of the population is over retirement age compared to 18% in urban areas.[1]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIn rural areas, you find people whose families have lived there for three or four generations,\u201d says Glyn Evans, Rural Officer, Diocese of Oxford<\/a>. \u201cWhen their children have to live elsewhere, they experience a loneliness that is about more than not being able to see much of their grandchildren. There\u2019s a sense of bewilderment and failure that their children weren\u2019t able to stay as they had expected.\u201d The younger generation can feel dislocated too. Many move to new estates, where the housing is affordable, but they mourn the loss of being close to their families and the rural way of life.<\/p>\n There are no buses. The church takes me to Soup Saturday once a month and my neighbour takes me out for a coffee. I use dial-a-ride to do my shopping once a week. Without those things, I\u2019m stuck here. (Phylis, aged 90, Oxfordshire)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Older people living in the countryside are vulnerable to loneliness in the same way as those who live in cities (see page 9) but in rural areas, the loneliness is compounded by poor service infrastructure. A lack of public transport is the most significant issue facing older people in the countryside.[2]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> Services like pubs, village stores, post offices and healthcare are declining at a faster rate in rural than in urban areas, \u00a0making it difficult for those without cars to get what they need, including company[3]<\/a>. Even the church can be seen as a depleting resource, with one vicar now serving as many as 12 parishes.<\/p>\n Recognising that weekends can be particularly lonely times in the countryside, parishioner Lin Mills set up a monthly Soup Saturday at St Mary\u2019s, Bloxham, Oxfordshire, where more than 40 people share soup made and served by people in the village. \u00a0Local taxi driver, Jimmy, picks people up free of charge. Judy Marshall, Soup Saturday co-ordinator, says: \u201cThere seems to be a growing awareness at the church of the need to look after people who are on their own.\u00a0 We have always done it, but there\u2019s a movement to do it more.\u201d<\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion, for Cabinet Office (2009)<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> The Housing Support Needs of Older People in Rural Areas, Commission for Rural Communities and the Housing Corporation (2006)<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Smalley k, Warren J, Mental Health in Rural Areas found in Rural Mental Health (2014)<\/p>\n There is a stigma around loneliness. Psychiatrist Jacqueline Olds has noted many patients seeking help for anxiety or depression are reluctant to admit that loneliness is their real problem. \u2018We found it was very difficult for our patients to talk about their isolation, which seemed to fill them with deep shame,\u201d[1]<\/a> she says.<\/p>\n The evidence suggests this is particularly true in rural communities. \u201cThe impact of stigma is well-recognised in rural areas,\u201d say Smalley and Warren.[2]<\/a> \u201cThe level of stigma increases as the size of the community decreases.\u201d There is also less anonymity. \u00a0In rural areas, it\u2019s more likely a resident\u2019s car will be spotted at a GP surgery or counselling service and that word will spread.\u00a0 \u201cAs a result, rural residents with mental health concerns face increased burdens of isolation and loneliness.\u201d<\/p>\n As a way of avoiding stigma, Age UK recommends providing opportunities for groups that focus on an activity rather than being advertised as a way of combating loneliness.[3]<\/a> \u201cIn rural areas you can feel as though you live in a goldfish bowl as it is,\u201d says Glyn Evans.\u00a0 \u201cThe Farming Community Network tries to get over that stigma by emphasising that it\u2019s OK to tell someone about your worries. \u00a0We encourage people not to wait until they are the end of their tether before they seek help. We say it\u2019s OK to feel lonely.\u201d<\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Olds J and Schwartz R, The Lonely\u00a0 American: Drifting Apart in the Twenty-first Century (2009)<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Smalley k, Warren J, Mental Health in Rural Areas found in Rural Mental Health (2014)<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Davidson s, Rossall P, Age UK Loneliness Evidence Review (Revised July 2014)<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> Stronger as One? Amalgamations and Church Attendance, Church Growth Research Programme p14<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> Department for Food and Rural Affairs, Rural-Urban Classification of Local Authority Districts in England, Office for National Statistics (2011)<\/p>\n [6]<\/a> Burgess S The Report of the Rural Advocate, Commission for Rural Communities (2008)<\/p>\n [7]<\/a> ISP Review July 2015<\/p>\n [8]<\/a> The implications of national funding formulae for rural health and education funding, All Party Parliamentary Group on Rural Affairs, 2010<\/p>\n [9]<\/a> Scharf T and Bartlam B, Ageing and Social Exclusion in Rural Communities, Rural Ageing: A Good Place to Grow Old? P97-108 (2008)<\/p>\n This is the sixth\u00a0of a series of posts on loneliness<\/a>. It is based on\u00a0Loneliness Accident or Injustice by Jo Ind<\/a>,\u00a0a joint publication from the Diocese of Oxford (Board of Mission)<\/a> and the Archway Foundation<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Living in the countryside brings its own risks of isolation. The perception that close-knit rural communities provide a buffer against loneliness might be the reality in some areas but it\u2019s by no means true for all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3076,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[218,217,179,181],"class_list":["post-2031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-diocese-of-oxford","tag-loneliness","tag-solitude","tag-soul"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/joind.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2031"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/joind.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/joind.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joind.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joind.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2031"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/joind.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2031\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2923,"href":"https:\/\/joind.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2031\/revisions\/2923"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joind.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/joind.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joind.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joind.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Poor service infrastructure in rural communities<\/strong><\/h3>\n
A church’s response to loneliness in rural communities<\/h3>\n
Stigma and loneliness in rural communities<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Fact file on loneliness in rural communties<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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