This toolkit was developed by a group of six Temple MSW students: Kathy Arazawa, Maggie Dekker, Nicholas Kirchhoff, Parisa Khoshnood, Megan Stanton, and Sarah Wuchinich.

We decided to focus on the topic of loneliness for our Macro class project as we felt it was an important issue to bring awareness to at Temple. The stigma and shame surrounding this topic makes it difficult to discuss with others, which in turn may exacerbate one’s loneliness/sense of isolation. To begin breaking down the barriers of silence around social isolation, we began by disseminating an online survey to Temple MSW students that asks respondents about their feelings of loneliness. The survey provides a space to share one’s thoughts candidly and anonymously about social connection and isolation within Temple’s MSW program. In this toolkit, we share information on the issue of loneliness, the prevalence of loneliness among Temple MSW students and share tips and strategies to address loneliness.

You can read our toolkit below or access it by clicking this link.