The Cost of Loneliness Project (2026)

17/10/2026

October 16: Day 29 of Walk With Me, a Journey Toward Connection

Sometimes belonging lies not only in knowing who we can turn to, but in knowing someone else needs us, too.

Yesterday in Nashville, we spoke with Dr. Katherine Schafer, a clinical psychologist and su***de-prevention researcher at Vanderbilt Health who challenged us to think differently about connection. We often ask who we can reach out to when life gets hard. Katherine urged us to ask another question: Who can we contribute to?

Dr. Schafer gave us a lightbulb moment when she explained how loneliness can link anxiety, depression and suicidality. She described loneliness as the “active ingredient” that agitates existing anxiety and depression, suggesting that addressing loneliness may also help reduce su***de risk.

We also discussed “bids for connection” in marriage. Reciprocated bids, or brief moments of connection, can lead to happier, healthier, longer marriages. Denied bids can deepen loneliness and contribute to divorce.

These small acts don’t replace the deeper bonds we need: relationships where we can be vulnerable, share our hardest thoughts, and trust someone will stay with us. We need both everyday moments that remind us we matter and enduring relationships where we know we belong.

Afterward, we walked about 12 miles with Lucy’s friend Debbie Faires. Five years ago today, Deb joined Lucy and others on the 500-mile walk for Salem Academy and Salem College from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Cold rain and stretches of Nashville without safe, walkable infrastructure reminded us that connection depends not only on individual choices, but also on whether our communities make it possible to come together.

16/10/2026

Think about the last time someone really noticed you.

Who was it? What did they say or do?

The thing is, chronic loneliness is not simply tied to our emotional well-being. It affects the human body in ways that go far beyond how you might feel on any given day. It is essential, deeply human need that is often unmet.

Please join us on November 12th at 12 pm for 12 minutes of intentional connection.

Learn more about the National Day of Connection with our link in bio. Who will you be connecting with?

16/10/2026

October 15: Day 28 of Walk With Me, a Journey Toward Connection

You can have a full life, a phone full of contacts, and people who care about you, yet still feel profoundly alone. So what does it take to move from simply being around people to truly belonging?

In Nashville, singer-songwriter Abby Nissenbaum helped us explore that question through music, friendship, and her own experiences with loneliness.

Abby uses songwriting to give difficult feelings a voice, drawing from her personal experiences and academic background. Her hope is that when people hear her music, they recognize something of themselves and feel less like they’re the only ones struggling.

Sometimes, knowing someone else understands is where connection begins.

One of her most important reminders was that friendships deserve the same care and intention we give romantic relationships.

Losing a close friend can hurt just as deeply as losing a partner. Yet we often treat friendship as secondary, even though these relationships can be essential to our sense of belonging.

Abby also spoke about the challenge of building community in Nashville. We have home and work, but what about the spaces in between? Affordable places where people can gather without having to spend money are disappearing. And while digital connections help us stay close to people across distances, they can’t always replace having someone nearby to share an ordinary afternoon with.

For LGBTQ+ individuals, finding belonging can carry additional challenges when the surrounding culture makes them feel they must hide parts of themselves to be accepted.

Abby’s message was both personal and universal: reach out. We may be more welcome than we realize, and our need for connection does not make us a burden.

Her story reminded us that belonging requires both opportunity and effort. We need communities that make connection possible, and we need the courage to take the first step toward one another.

Thank you, Abby, for sharing your time, your music, and your story with us.

We’re looking forward to another day in Nashville.

15/10/2026

October 14: Day 27 of Walk With Me, a Journey Toward Connection

What happens when one chapter ends and the next hasn’t yet taken shape? Even when we know why we started, finding our way forward can feel lonely.

As we reached the midway point in our own journey, that question feels especially close to home. Today, walking into Nashville with Brooke Johnson (Brooke Johnson), the first woman to skateboard across America, reminded us that purpose can move us forward, but it’s the people we meet along the way who help us keep going.

Brooke skated 3,266 miles from California to Virginia in 119 days, honoring her late stepfather, who became quadriplegic after a spinal cord injury. She raised $50,000 for spinal cord injury research, turning a deeply personal promise into an extraordinary achievement. But behind the accomplishment were long, lonely hours on the road, constant vigilance and the determination to keep going when the journey was hard.

There were also unexpected moments of kindness. One woman, after hearing Brooke’s story, gave her $100 to help her continue. They may never meet again, but that brief encounter communicated something powerful: I see you. What you’re doing matters.

Brooke has also used social media to build community, bringing people with shared interests together in real life. Her story reminded us that connection can begin in unexpected places, and that even a brief interaction can help someone feel seen and valued.

We talked, too, about the uncertainty that follows a defining chapter. What comes next after you’ve given so much of yourself to something meaningful? We don’t always know. Transitions can bring grief, questions and loneliness. Sometimes, what we need most isn’t advice, but people who will listen, check in and give us room to find our way.

As we begin the second half of Walk With Me, we’re carrying that lesson with us. We don’t need to have every answer or know exactly where the road leads. We just need to keep showing up for one another, staying open to unexpected connections and remembering that even when the next chapter feels uncertain, we don’t have to navigate it alone.

14/10/2026

October 13: Day 26 of Walk With Me, a Journey Toward Connection

“Am I significant to anybody anymore?”

That question, shared in St. Charles, Missouri, is hard to forget. As we grow older, relationships change, and people can wonder where they fit.

During our conversation with the Senior Citizen Advisory Council, we shared our journey and heard members’ stories. One man wondered whether he still mattered to the people he loved. A woman told us she put a swing in her yard and invited lonely neighbors over whenever they needed company.
Their stories revealed the ache of feeling forgotten, and the power of reminding others they aren’t alone.

At the St. Charles Senior Center, we met Glenn, 93, who noticed his wife, Joyce, was losing weight while they received home-delivered meals. He began bringing her to the center for lunch every day. With regular meals and company, Joyce returned to a healthy weight and began to thrive again.

“I was lonely, and he figured it out for me,” she told us.

We also met Joan Bauer, who lost her husband, Gary, six years ago. They once attended Memory Cafe events, a free, welcoming social space organized by the Bev Roy Hope Foundation for people with early-stage memory loss and their loved ones.

Since Gary’s passing, even coming home can be difficult. Sometimes, Joan still calls out, “Gary, I’m home.”

“I need to fill my heart with something since Gary’s gone,” she told us. That “something” is volunteering with Memory Cafe, helping others create memories while finding renewed purpose herself.

Joan’s story reminded us that moving forward after loss doesn’t mean leaving someone behind. It means finding ways to keep living, connecting and making room for joy while carrying grief.

In St. Charles, connection grew when people paid attention to one another. A neighbor opens her door. A husband recognizes his wife’s loneliness. A woman who has experienced loss makes space for others.

As we continue Walk With Me, we’re learning that one of the most meaningful things we can offer is reassurance that people still matter, haven’t been forgotten, and have a place where they belong.

Tomorrow, we hit the road for Nashville.

14/10/2026

Who is the last person you lost touch with, but wish you hadn’t?

Maybe it’s the friend you stopped talking to because you’ve both been too busy, or one of you moved. Or the sibling you haven’t heard from in a while, or that person you keep meaning to text back, but every time you start to, life gets in the way.

This November 12th, The National Day of Connection, is your opportunity to practice connection with intention, in observation of the chronic loneliness epidemic.

It starts with you! At 12pm on November 12th, take 12 minutes to send the text, make the call, put a lunch on the calendar, grab a coffee. And let those 12 minutes you invest in making someone feel like they matter mark the beginning of a practice that helps shape a culture of connection day after day.

Send this to someone who you’d like to spend the National Day of Connection with. 💙

13/10/2026

October 12: Day 25 of Walk With Me, a Journey Toward Connection

What does it take to build a society where people feel they belong? Today, our conversations took us from public health research to a gathering place along the Katy Trail, exploring barriers to connection and what helps it grow.

We spoke with Dr. Salma Abdalla, a physician and associate professor at Bursky School of Public Health whose research explores the forces shaping our health. Across eight countries, her team found that nearly four in ten people reported feeling lonely, with higher rates of depression and anxiety, even after controlling for other factors.

Salma reminded us that connection isn’t simply a matter of choice: Our socioeconomic circumstances shape our ability to build it.

Inviting friends over requires space. Gathering around a meal costs money. Showing up for others takes time, and having time to spare is a privilege. Even public spaces can come with a price.

We can encourage people to reach out, but what happens when the resources and opportunities to connect are out of reach?

As Salma put it, “I can write all the papers in the world, but that’s not going to cut it. We need to create a movement of people who believe this is one of the biggest challenges of our time.”

Later, at the Bike Stop Cafe, we saw how that movement can begin in everyday gathering places.

More than a stop along the trail, the cafe brings people together across generations and backgrounds. It’s a place where familiar faces return and there’s room for one more.

Gerard, a retired volunteer and bike repairman, described a community built through weekly rides, familiar faces and the reassurance of being noticed. People check in on one another. He knows he matters because people would notice if he didn’t show up.

“I want to build bridges, not walls,” he told us. “Love is the greatest gift.”

Belonging doesn’t happen just because people live near one another. We must make room for it by creating accessible gathering places, addressing inequalities that make connection harder and choosing to notice one another.

Connection is a shared responsibility, and we owe it to each other to prioritize it.

12/10/2026

October 11: Day 24 of Walk With Me, a Journey Toward Connection

Today, we walked the Katy Trail again, and once again, connection found us when we least expected it.

As we walked the trail, we caught the smell of something delicious. When we investigated, we stumbled upon an annual chili cook-off hosted by the St. Charles County Ambassadors, a group of local leaders and business owners who raise money for a different charity each year.

We met Traci at the registration table, and when we explained our journey, she welcomed us warmly and generously offered us passes to sample the chili.

Talking with Terra, we heard about the small-town feel of the area and how local business owners support one another. That spirit of showing up for your neighbors was a recurring theme in our conversations.

We also met Sheila, founder of The Kaufman Fund, which serves approximately 2,000 people each year through programs supporting veterans and their families. From equine, art and music therapy to providing essentials like coats and hats, the Fund offers families different ways to find support.

Sheila shared an important lesson: no single organization can do everything. The Kaufman Fund doesn’t provide housing, for example, which makes partnerships with organizations that do essential. By supporting the whole family, the Fund helps veterans, too.

The power of institutional partnerships has been a recurring theme during this journey.

Connection isn’t just about relationships between individuals. It’s also about what becomes possible when organizations work together. When each brings its own strengths toward a common goal, the whole community benefits.

Today, all of this began with a smell drifting across a trail. We hadn’t planned to meet these people or learn about their work. We simply followed our curiosity, and someone welcomed us in.

Sometimes, connection begins with something as simple as following your nose. And sometimes, it leads to a much bigger lesson about what we can accomplish together.

11/10/2026

October 10: Day 23 of Walk With Me, a Journey Toward Connection

Today, the Katy Trail brought us to Experience Hermann where the town’s annual Oktoberfest filled the streets with music, food and celebrations of its German heritage. Settled by German immigrants in the mid-1800s, Hermann has held onto its roots in a way you can feel, not just see. The traditions are alive because people continue to show up, share them and pass them on.

One of the most meaningful moments of the day was meeting a multigenerational family band playing traditional German music. Now in its fifth generation of raising Angus cattle, the family has deep roots in this community. Their grandfather began playing music during his Army days, and today, generations of the family play together.

There’s something special about watching a tradition move from one generation to the next. It’s not just the music being passed down. It’s the stories, the memories, the time spent together and the feeling of being part of something that began long before you. And when they share that music with their community, a family tradition becomes something everyone can be part of.

We also met Carter (Carter R. Munk), a young tech entrepreneur thinking about a question we hear often on this journey: How can we be more connected than ever online and still struggle to find meaningful relationships? He’s working to bridge that gap, turning digital connection into real-world friendships. Seeing him spending time with friends at Oktoberfest was a reminder that sometimes connection begins with being present.

Today, we saw how belonging can grow through generations of shared music, through friendships we choose to nurture and through traditions that give people a reason to come together.

That’s part of what makes connection so meaningful. We don’t have to create something extraordinary. Sometimes, we just need a place to gather, a story to share or a song that brings us together.

Tomorrow, we’ll continue through Missouri, carrying a little of Hermann’s music with us.

10/10/2026

October 9: Day 22 of Walk With Me, a Journey Toward Connection

After Brownville showed us that so much meaning can be found in the simple things, we got to enjoy a quieter day on the journey. No organized meetings, no packed schedule. Just us, the Katy Trail, and time to walk, talk, and be together.

We were still reflecting on the idea that more isn’t always better. Sometimes, what we need most isn’t another event or another activity. It’s time. It’s presence. It’s the chance to slow down and really be with one another.

That’s something we got to put into practice ourselves today.

As we slowed down, we noticed that we were walking over more bridges than we could count, and we couldn’t help thinking about the symbolism of that.

A bridge connects two sides that would otherwise remain apart. It gives us a way to get from where we are to somewhere new. That’s what connection asks of us, too. To take a step toward someone else, even when there’s distance between us. To be willing to meet in the middle.

When we arrived at our hotel, we received one of the warmest welcomes we have had to date. Before long, the staff members were sharing stories of their own experiences with loneliness.

Moments like that happen when we least expect them. Someone asks a question. Someone senses they’re being heard. A conversation goes a little deeper than either person anticipated. And suddenly, a stranger has trusted you with a piece of their story.

We set out on this journey to learn about connection in communities across the country. But some of the most meaningful moments haven’t happened at planned events or around conference tables. They’ve happened when we simply showed up, made room for one another and let people be heard.

Today reminded us that connection doesn’t always require us to do more. Sometimes it asks us to slow down, cross the bridge in front of us and be present for the person on the other side.

Tomorrow, we’ll continue through Missouri, heading from Jefferson City toward Hermann.

We’re looking forward to crossing more bridges together.

The Cost of Loneliness Project

17/10/2026

16/10/2026

16/10/2026

15/10/2026

14/10/2026

14/10/2026

13/10/2026

12/10/2026

11/10/2026

10/10/2026

Address

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share

Listing takedown request