Community space owners: Join our effort to tackle the crisis of disconnection (Good news: you're already doing it)

Last week, I hosted an event bringing together coworking space owners and other community leaders to discuss the epidemic of loneliness and social disconnection which is plaguing so much of our culture and causing real, serious effects on our physical and emotional health.

I emphasized just how important it is for people to know where they can go to find other people and resources that can help them get settled—and the critical role of the right kinds of programming to help foster connections between people who might not otherwise know each other.

Along the way, I mentioned examples from my own experience, including the New to Town Meetup I was about to host the following day.

I then invited participants to join me in raising awareness of the good work everyone on the call was already doing—by compiling the public events they are already hosting in the month of April into one shared calendar.

It was a great conversation. Watch the replay here:

The master plan: Activating a global network of spaces

While the trends of our society's deteriorating social capital and increased screen time, anxiety, depression, and divisiveness all seem daunting if not impossible to reverse, other more encouraging trends have also been growing, under the surface, in parallel.

Since the dawn of the age of wifi-connected laptops, people have been creating new kinds of spaces to gather. Today, thousands of coworking spaces are home to countless communities of entrepreneurs and remote workers—but they're doing more. They're hosting Meetup groups and local nonprofit meetings. They're creating their own original programming. They're acting as beacons for people who are seeking belonging.

But that's a story you don't hear much about.

In many cases, these spaces are only scratching the surface of what's possible. And for the spaces that are doing great work, you might have a hard time finding their stories amidst the mix of everything else going on.

The Belongfulness Project intends to change all that.

By talking about these great communities and the work they are doing—and by encouraging more folks who are on the brink to dive in and contribute—we can craft a powerful story that can reach the people who need these kinds of connections the most.

We can raise the profile of a counter-narrative—that there is a global, emergent, natural, inevitable response to the increase in isolation that aims to balance the scales.

If the increased flexibility of remote work has led to more people feeling isolated working from home, it stands to reason that something will emerge to address that need.

Coworking spaces and other similar gathering places are that solution. They are awesome and they can be even more awesome. Let's make these spaces more awesome together and show the world what's possible.

Starting with simple events (and a sticker)

To make an impact, there are a few key things we need to do:

1. Raise awareness of the issue of loneliness and its real heath effects
2. Provide access to resources that help people know what they and their loved ones can do to counter the ill effects of social isolation
3. Offer great programming that lowers barriers to people getting out of the house to connect with one another and brings together disparate groups of people who are destined to become future friends
4. Tell the story of what we're doing so we can reach more people and win the support of organizations who share our interests

To that end, as I mentioned earlier, we started compiling some of the upcoming events we're hosting as a starting point. In May, we'll reconvene to track our collective impact and discuss next steps.

Our collective calendar

What do a climate community gathering, a product market fit meetup, a lunch & learn on cybersecurity, a tea party potluck, and a clothing swap all have in common? They're just a small sampling of the 18+ events being hosted by just a handful of communities around the world in the coming month.

Check the full slate here:

Want to join the fun?

Comment below and I'll give you the ability to contribute to our shared calendar of events. You'll even have a chance to get a free sticker to put up in your window!