The great work of breaking the silence on loneliness

Loneliness is for many people very difficult to talk openly about. It is something many choose to keep to themselves which only – of course – creates an even larger problem. A problem both for the struggling individual but also for the society in general. Loneliness is a global phenomenon and problem and many people throughout the word struggles daily with overcoming it.

The Danish way

In Denmark’s second largest city Aarhus, you find an organisation – Hamlet Aarhus – which works towards breaking the silence on loneliness and towards creating a safe and open space for young adults between the ages of 18 – 35 who experience the daily struggles of loneliness. Here everyone is welcomed with open arms and you yourselves decide to which extend you wish to be a part of the small organic community. You make no promises when visiting and it is completely free.

The danish method of fighting loneliness very much builds on the popular danish term “hygge” which over the last ten years have become well-known throughout the rest of the world. The feeling of being safe in an environment is for the Danes the first step towards eliminating loneliness.

The importance of seeing people eye to eye

At Hamlet Aarhus people see each other eye to eye. A big part of the people running the place are volunteers who choose to spend their spare time creating a space for those who are struggling in their day-to-day lives. These people are open-minded individuals, and the place would not run without their help.

The biggest advantage of running an organisation with many volunteers is that they are in fact there because they believe in the idea. The volunteers create the place and the fact that they are there just tells everyone that they are great people. People who give some much of themselves to others.