Meet and greet group to help combat loneliness

By Sheree Hoddinett

While some people like to spend time on their own, for others loneliness is an unwanted part of their lives. Even though he is going through his own experience of loneliness, Jesse Riley has come up with the idea of a local meet and greet group to bring people together, form new bonds and maybe even build new friendships.

“I originally thought of how lots of people don't necessarily have many close and significant friends,” Jesse said. “Loneliness has led to an interesting case of how it affects the body negatively, not just emotional/mentally. Bringing people together like this can be a good opportunity to learn from everyone and people don’t always allow themselves the chance to get out and meet others.

“I think it also has potential for those who come along to meet close minded people and a lot of people can make good and meaningful bonds with others that they may not normally get to do.”

With the hope of achieving a stronger community, Jesse said the idea behind the group was slowly gaining traction.

“Historically we are social creatures,” Jesse said. “It was in the 19th century people stopped socialising like they used to. Of course there are multiple different reasons for this but I feel the reason behind it being (from my observations) advancements in technology mostly.

“As you can see in Japan, they have lots of tech but not necessarily a lot of communal spirit. You also don't need to go far to notice that some parents don't really bond with their kids either and in some cases, kids now hate their parents so it’s not an ideal situation.”

Hailing from Sandstone Point, Jesse has highlighted Centenary Lakes at Caboolture as a more central location for the group to meet on a weekend, so more people can come along and be a part of the interactive and social event.

“This is a group that will be open to everyone who feels like they need to come along,” Jesse said. “It will be held at Centenary Lakes because it’s a big area and it means lots of people can join in. Plus there’s the added bonus of having a friendly game of footy on the field every now and then if people are up for it. We all know loneliness can affect people of all ages, so this is just something I’ve thought of for people to meet up and get to know others. Children can come along too, as most of our brain’s social skills start from childhood, so why not get the ball rolling early!”

If all goes well, Jesse is hoping the meet ups will become a regular monthly thing.

To find out more search for the Centenary Lakes Meetups group via Facebook