ECSF Stories: Here’s How Two Non-Profits are Fighting the ‘Loneliness Epidemic’ during COVID-19

Over the past decade, loneliness has been recognized as a public health issue, shown to increase the risk of mortality at a higher rate than smoking or alcohol. With social distancing safety measures, the pandemic has seen a steep rise in loneliness; in 2019, one study found that just over half of Canadians felt they had a good social life. During COVID-19, that number has plummeted to 33%.

To support this work, Community Foundations of Canada granted almost 5,000 projects funding from the Emergency Community Support Fund (ECSF). More than 3200 of these projects are directly addressing the problem of social isolation and mental health.

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