Photo: Chaiel Schaffel/WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The YMCA of Greater Boston has launched a new campaign to help fight loneliness.
It's called See You At The Y.
Officials said the program is designed to make a stronger community by mobilizing resources that help people feel a greater sense of connection and belonging.
The program was launched at an event held Wednesday at the Oak Square YMCA in Brighton.
Along with the YMCA, partners in the initiative include Boston Public Schools, Catholic Charities of Boston, and the Red Sox Foundation.
One study, done before the Covid pandemic, found up to about half of all adults in the U.S. say they are lonely.
In a 2023 report, the U.S. Surgeon General identified loneliness as an epidemic in this country.
One of the study's conclusions is that loneliness is more than just a bad feeling.
The Surgeon General at the time concluded it harms both individual and societal health and is associated with a greater risk of heart disease.
The CEO of the Greater Boston YMCA David Shapiro explained how the new program fights feelings of isolation by helping people of all ages connect with each other. "What I would tell you is that this issue defies age," he said.
Shapiro added that the Y is a good place to help people meet and socialize with others, given that people of all stripes go there to work out anyway.
"We're a container for human beings," he said. "So, the question is what can we be doing to bring them together more and more. A lot of that is just with intentionality, activity, and invitation."
See You At The Y initiatives include providing more teenagers free membership as well as offering more social gatherings for all ages at the YMCA and holding more events for families.
The program's launch event along with several of its new initiatives were funded by a partnership with the Highland Street Foundation.
WBZ NewsRadio's Chaiel Schaffel (@CSchaffelWBZ) reports.