During Loneliness Awareness Week, Sandra Elton, CEO of North Townsville Community Hub (NOTCH) spoke to ABC North Queensland about the growing issue of loneliness in Australia and the importance of Neighbourhood Centres in addressing it.
“One in three Australians are currently feeling lonely, and one in six are experiencing severe loneliness,” Sandra said. “Neighbourhood Centres have been working on this problem for decades. We see these people every week in our Centres who have nowhere to go or know nothing to do, or have other barriers that prevent [them] from participating in community life.”
Those barriers range from financial stress to mental health challenges, limited transport options, and simply not knowing what support is available. That’s where NOTCH’s program, A Place to Belong, steps in.
Launched in 2023, the program offers free social events, peer groups, and a unique model called social prescribing, where staff work one-on-one with individuals to identify the kinds of connections they need and then help them find them.
“[It’s about] fostering meaningful connections for people who are experiencing isolation and loneliness,” Sandra said. “As of June 2025 we’ve seen more than 4,300 times where people have engaged with the program.” The community have indicated its making a real difference, “87% feel more connected, 81% feel less socially isolated, and 91% have made new friends,” emphasised Sandra.
As cost-of-living pressures and the effects of natural disasters continue to affect communities, the role of Neighbourhood Centres as free, welcoming, and inclusive spaces is more important than ever in addressing loneliness and social isolation.
“Where can you go in the community and just be, where you don’t have to spend money?” Sandra asked. There’s the library, a park… and there’s your local Neighbourhood Centre. “It’s providing more opportunities for people to have a safe place to come to where somebody knows their name, and they don’t have to have money to go and be part of something.”
Listen to the interview here.