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<\/p>\nEvery Thursday night, John Abreu heads down to the Gascoyne Hotel in Carnarvon in Western Australia with his brother and daughter for the gathering of the Old Bastards.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The group catch up weekly to have a yarn, a drink, play games and fundraise for their community.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRena, my daughter, she registered as an Old Bastard 27 years ago,\u201d he says.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was nine months old. She was the youngest Old Bastard in Carnarvon.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Despite the name of the group, the Old Bastards consists of young and old members of both genders. (ABC Pilbara: Yousuf Shameel)<\/p>\n
Recent research has found more than half of Australians suffer from loneliness. The number is even higher in regional Australia and groups like the Old Bastards are combating this by offering a way to get together regularly.<\/p>\n
The gathering has become a lifeline for locals like Jonathon Foster, who first moved to the isolated coastal town six years ago.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don’t see it too often in a lot of other places,\u201d he says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn’t feel connected until we met these guys and they just put their arms out and welcomed us into the town.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re 500 kilometres from Geraldton and 600 from Karratha.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s probably because of the isolation that it all works.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The Old Bastards even have merch, like caps (top left); and the weekly morning tea catch-ups of Carnarvon Old Bastards gives the senior citizens something to look forward to every week, including games (bottom left). (ABC Pilbara: Yousuf Shameel)<\/p>\n
The Old Bastards is just one of many small community groups in the outback, doing a lot of the heavy work when it comes to addressing isolation in regional Australia, says leading loneliness expert Associate Professor Michelle Lim.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
She is the chief executive of Ending Loneliness Together, Australia\u2019s peak body focused on addressing loneliness and social isolation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Michelle Lim says loneliness impacts regional and rural Australians more than their metro counterparts. (Supplied)<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that there’s not enough research in this area, but what we do know is the prevalence is significantly higher for both loneliness and social isolation in regional and rural communities,\u201d she says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
“What people living in those communities are telling us is that there is a lack of infrastructure and investment in spaces, in programs.”<\/p>\n
Ending Loneliness Together began surveying Australians in 2018 and its recent report found regional and rural Australia is an isolation hotspot. \u00a0<\/p>\n
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Rena, her dad John and her uncle Joe Abreu are all members of Old Bastards. (ABC Pilbara: Yousuf Shameel)<\/p>\n
\u201cAnecdotally, when we were talking about loneliness, people were concerned but they didn’t have empathy as to why someone could feel lonely,\u201d Associate Professor Lim says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd in fact, if anything, I think we caught a lot of criticism and a lot of people would say just get over it, you live and this is just part of life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“And then COVID happened.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The weekly morning tea catch-ups of Carnarvon Old Bastards give the senior citizens something to look forward to every week. (ABC Pilbara: Yousuf Shameel)<\/p>\n
In 2023, the United States Surgeon General sounded the alarm on the harms caused by isolation, declaring it a public health issue at epidemic proportions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The statistics surrounding the impact of loneliness on health is stark. In terms of mortality alone, it can impact a person’s longevity as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When people feel like they are shouldering life’s burdens alone it can lead to all sorts of health complications like heart disease, depression and anxiety, and increased risk of stroke.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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On the Gold Coast in Queensland, the Aged Care Volunteer Visitors Scheme \u2014 affectionately known as Chatterbox \u2014 is a government-funded program that tackles this problem by matchmaking volunteers with older people who would otherwise miss out on human connection and companionship.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Darren Maughan became a volunteer because of what he observed when visiting his late mother-in-law at the Ashmore Gardens Care Community.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw the loneliness and the isolation of other residents there, a lot of people that I never saw with a visitor,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSome you’d see with a family member that might come in once a month for a couple of hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I could see the physical and mental decline on these people while they were sitting there.”<\/p>\n
Mr Maughan is a Chatterbox volunteer and has had up to 10 people on his roster, including 95-year-old Cyril.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
They may have started off as strangers, but now they enjoy shooting the breeze about anything from Cyril’s days working on the WA gold mines to their families.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Cyril, 95, enjoys looking at photos of his family in his room, including of his late wife Marjorie. (ABC Gold Coast: Josie Sargent)<\/p>\n
“You can’t sort of sit down with somebody for a couple of hours once a week and not be friends,\u201d Cyril says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I mean, if we weren’t friends, I’d ask him to leave!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Renee Brown coordinates the Chatterbox volunteers, and says the health impacts of visits can often be immediate.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFamily members have come back and said they’ve noticed a brand-new spark in family members from having just a couple of visits with their friend,\u201d she says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo those who’ve visited someone in a residential aged care facility as well, they’ve noticed that they like to come out of their room a bit more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Or if not, they’re really, happy and they’re like I know my friend is coming to visit me today.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Darren enjoys weekly visits with Cyril, 95, and they have become fast friends through the Chatterbox program. (ABC Gold Coast: Josie Sargent)<\/p>\n
Professor Lim said friendship between generations is important because both ends of life experience have a lot to offer each other.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually think that we don’t do intergenerational friendships enough,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe two loneliest cohorts in Australia, are the 18 to 25 years and then the 65 and over.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYoung people have energy and new ideas and enthusiasm and they’re real advocates for life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“And then you have all the people who carry this wisdom, mentorship, life experience.\u00a0And those two cohorts really can benefit so greatly from each other.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
This sentiment is echoed in Carnarvon where inter-generational friendships are the norm.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Gascoyne Hotel proudly hosts the Old Bastards for their weekly gathering, with a dedicated corner for them. (ABC Pilbara\/ Yousuf Shameel)<\/p>\n
\u201cOld people can talk about experiences and how they’ve grown through their life, whether it be financial, family planning,\u201d Mr Foster says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’ve got a wide opinion, whether they listen to it or not.\u00a0But young people can talk to us about technology, obviously.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“They just seem to have a really, good rapport between the youth and the seniors and they love it all when they come here.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s just part and parcel of what the town does I think.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n