Jenna Leo

Loneliness Is a Health Threat

When we think of contributors to premature death, we often think of physical causes such as smoking or obesity. Yet another—frequently overlooked—factor greatly increases chances of dying prematurely: loneliness.

The problem of social isolation is growing globally, especially in Australia, where one in four people report feeling lonely and more than half feel they sometimes lack companionship. At the same time, there are too few care workers to meet the ever-growing demand. Additionally, the workers who are available often aren’t focused on—and don’t have enough time to build—relationships with clients.

Loneliness and isolation touched Jenna and her husband, Mat, when Mat’s parents moved from Canada to be near the couple in Australia. His father was in remission from lung cancer and his mother was recovering from memory loss related to encephalitis. Jenna remembers her in-laws reassuring them, “No worries! We’ll be super independent. We’ll be at the beach all the time.” She says, “The reality was because of their age and disability they found it really hard to make friends.” Their memory issues meant they frequently got lost when they left the house. “It was really frustrating for us emotionally, but also practically. Mat would spend at least an hour every day trying to use [the locator app] Find My Friends to get them home.”

Matching Community Members for Companionship

Mat and Jenna had an American friend working part time in Sydney who offered to take Mat’s parents on outings. Mat’s father had insisted he didn’t need help when Jenna and Mat considered hiring someone to care for him. “But when we said, ‘What about our friend Destiny? Can she take you guys to the beach?’ the answer was very different,” Jenna explains. Mat’s father felt a sense of trust and familiarity that was absent in a traditional caregiver/patient relationship. “Mat and I had peace of mind. For Destiny, it was great because she got to make the connection with them as well as make a bit of extra money.”

The solution Mat and Jenna found for Mat’s parents evolved into the business the couple started in 2016. “We thought there must be lots of other people who are lonely or who just want to gain more independence. That’s how we thought up the idea of Like Family, which reduces social isolation and loneliness by connecting people in the community.”

Jenna and Mat understand their customers’ needs from first-hand experience. Rather than being randomly assigned a caregiver, clients—referred to as members—and Social Carers, as Like Family companions are called, choose each other. People who want companionship fill out a request form on the Like Family website to start the process. The company charges an hourly flat rate of $40 AU and pays companions a bit more than $31, making for a transparent and affordable system.

Providing Independence and a Sense of Meaning

Like Family is more than a transactional platform. “We’re passionate about what we’re doing,” Jenna says. Social Carers join the network out of a desire to connect, much like their friend Destiny.

The business made $800 within weeks of launching. “People were able to go through the process to get themselves set up and work together on the platform. Since then we’ve been improving… Now we’ve had over 13,000 people sign up to become Social Carers.” The company has provided more than 300,000 hours of support and has expanded from Sydney to two more Australian cities

Like Family offers benefits for individuals on both sides of the relationship. More than 80 percent of members report that their lives have improved. They have greater independence and a chance to feel like everyday members of the community once again. Social Carers gain a sense of purpose, value, and meaning in their lives. More than three quarters of them say they feel more empathy as a result of their work.

More Connection Around the World

Australians are not the only people suffering from loneliness and isolation. “Loneliness reports from around the world indicate that the biggest group likely to feel isolated and lonely are people between 18 and 25,” Jenna says, as the company looks to expand globally. “We’re supporting relationships in the community. Even as the world becomes more connected through technology, people feel more isolated. We’re trying to bring people together.”