Loneliness is not always easy to talk about.
Loneliness Awareness Week | Not So Alone 2026
For many young people, it can sit in the background, sometimes hard to name, sometimes carrying a sense of shame or distance. One of the things Project CREATE has tried to do is open that conversation a little, and to do that in a way that feels safe, not forced.This year’s Loneliness Awareness Week asks what it means to give loneliness a voice. That idea has been part of CREATE from the beginning.
Through the work, and through what young people have shared, there has been a growing sense that loneliness is not unusual. It is part of being human, and most people will experience it at some point, even if it looks different at different times.
Giving loneliness a voice is not only about speaking more openly. It is also about recognising that not everything feels easy to say directly, and that people need different ways, and different spaces, to express what they are feeling.
In CREATE, small things have mattered here. Having the option to step out of a session, take a break, or not take part at all shaped how people came back into the space. In one Living Lab, a young person spent most of the time in the calm space rather than joining the group. Over time, that changed, and they began to take part more fully. It was a quiet reminder that feeling able to connect does not happen all at once. The way sessions were held also made a difference. When the focus moved away from answering questions and towards making things together, the dynamic shifted. People could take part without needing to explain everything straight away. Some things were shared through sound, images, or movement, and sometimes that made it easier to express what might otherwise have stayed unspoken.
Alongside this, young people were clear that they wanted to see something change now, not only in the longer term. The Not So Alone campaign grew from that. It began on Instagram as a space to share thoughts, artwork, and reflections, and later developed into a podcast on Spotify, where conversations could unfold in a more open way.
What comes through in these spaces is not a single message about loneliness, but a range of experiences. Some people speak directly. Others use music or sound. Some reflect quietly. Taken together, they create something shared, a sense that these feelings are recognised, even if they are not always fully understood.
There is something important in that. Not a performance, just an opening.
For some, it might be about the spaces we create in our work or communities. For others, it might be about noticing where connection happens in everyday life, and where it is missing. It might mean supporting work that brings people together, or being open to conversations that feel difficult to start.
Giving loneliness a voice is only part of it. What matters is how we listen, and what we do with what we hear.
Although CREATE is coming to an end, this way of thinking can carry on. Loneliness is not something that belongs to a few people. It is something many of us experience. And when it is given space, even in small ways, it can begin to feel a little less isolating.
If there is something to hold on to, it may be this. We are not as alone as we sometimes feel. And with the right spaces, and a little care, it becomes easier to reach towards one another again.For some, it might be about the spaces we create in our work or communities. For others, it might be about noticing how connection happens in everyday life, and where it is missing. It might mean supporting work that brings people together, or being open to conversations that can feel difficult to start.CREATE suggests that giving loneliness a voice is only part of the work. What matters next is how we listen, and what we choose to do with what we hear.
Loneliness is not something that belongs to a few people. It is something many of us experience. And when it is given space to be expressed, it can also become a starting point for connection.
Although the project is coming to an end, this way of thinking can carry on. Loneliness is not something that belongs to a few people. It is something many of us experience. And when it is given space to be expressed, it can also become a starting point for connection.