on the mend

  • Mathilda Della Torre
  • Sophia Luu
  • Rashmi Shankar

I am the co-director and designer at 'on the mend', a creative studio erasing healthcare inequalities. Our bespoke events, workshops and artworks are designed to inform people on the societal impacts on health and well-being. Loneliness is a national health crisis. 1/3 of older people experience loneliness. The second largest group likely to feel lonely are 21-35 year olds. In 2017, Theresa May appointed a Minister for Loneliness, following the Jo Cox report on loneliness. We wanted to show that there is always a small thing you can do to combat loneliness. On Sunday 20th January, we invited members of the public to the Tate Modern. They wrote letters to those in long term healthcare. We will then distribute these to those in elderly care homes and those likely to be feeling lonely. You don’t need to be a doctor or a minister to help combat loneliness. Donating a bit of time goes a long way. We’ve set up the Ministry of Loneliness to bring loneliness into the public conversation. Over 700 people came to the event, and we gained 300 letters in total. These letters were distributed to various care homes and homeless shelters around the UK. www.onthemend.me @weareonthemend