Reading Friends: creating connections in 2022/23

From 2022 to 2023, Reading Friends worked with 39 UK authorities and their delivery partners to make a positive difference to individual lives and whole communities – creating meaningful connections, reducing loneliness and improving wellbeing.

How many people took part?

• Over 4,800 people took part in groups and one-to-ones
• Over 35,600 social connections took place

Analysing the need

We found that a high proportion of Reading Friends participants felt lonely prior to taking part. In the three months prior to becoming involved in Reading Friends:

• 66% of participants and 49% of befrienders felt lonely always/often, occasionally or some of the time
• 20% of participants and 5% of befrienders had not socialised with a friend or group of friends in-person
• 19% of participants and 5% of befrienders tended to disagree or disagreed that if they wanted to socialise, they had people that they could call on

The difference Reading Friends made

By taking part in the programme:

• 83% participants and 84% befrienders felt more connected to other people
• 77% participants and 86% befrienders added purpose to their week
• 71% participants and 70% befrienders increased their confidence to try new things
• 69% participants and 68% befrienders increased their satisfaction with their life
• 68% participants and 29% befrienders felt less lonely

Read the full findings in our full evaluation report.

If you’d like to find out more about Reading Friends, contact
[email protected]