The Reflecting Together Project
Loneliness and isolation experienced by older people in South Tyneside
Stefanie Conradt is a current fellow of the William Leech Research Fund and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow of the Centre for Baptist Studies.
The Reflecting Together Project is a participatory theological action research project that offers a theological response to the public concern about rising experiences of loneliness and social isolation. From November 2023 to November 2024 Stefanie Conradt and Churches Together South Tyneside (CTST) researched experiences of loneliness and social isolation of older people living in South Tyneside collaborating with a community of churches, social care and health care agencies and theological educators.
Through theological reflection, the project members studied the experiences of loneliness and social isolation of CTST’s beneficiaries. The goal of this project was to establish new ways of working within CTST and its networks and develop CTST’s pastoral practices in order to address the individual as well as structural issues that loneliness and social isolation bring about.
Dedicated to encouraging reflective practices, this project provides a distinct voice from the deprived region of South Tyneside and offers ideas and approaches for a (faith) community response to tackle experiences of loneliness and social isolation of older people.
To read more about the project: