Loneliness has been declared a public health emergency in San Mateo County, California, with an estimated 45 percent of residents reporting difficulty with isolation and loneliness.
The county is located in the San Francisco Bay Area and includes part of Silicon Valley, is the first in the U.S. to make such a declaration about what has been called a “silent epidemic.”
About 17 percent of U.S. adults questioned by Gallup in February last year said they had experienced loneliness the day before, Sky News reports.
In San Mateo, however, some 45 percent of residents are struggling with isolation, according to David Canepa from the county’s board of supervisors.
The resolution doesn’t directly set aside funds for programs to reduce loneliness; rather, it signals the county’s commitment to addressing the issue and validates residents’ experiences, Canepa set out as he introduced the legislation.
“What we’re trying to do is to really get people out of the corners and say, ‘Hey, look, there are a lot of people who are feeling like you. You’re not alone. And moving forward, here are some of the things that we can do to support you,'” he said.
Concerns in San Mateo are not confined to a single demographic, Canepa said, mirroring concerns already expressed in the UK where the government appointed a so-called Minister for Loneliness in 2018 to tackle the problem, as Breitbart News reported.
Teenagers and young adults spend a long time on social media, he pointed out, while Silicon Valley’s high-achieving atmosphere may put stress on those still in education.
Canepa said San Mateo has a large share of older residents, many of whom became especially isolated during the pandemic. People ages 65 and up make up more than 18 percent of the county’s population, compared with the state average of 16 percent.
“It’s sort of a perfect storm for older adults right now,” Jennifer Steele, the CEO of Meals on Wheels San Francisco, an organization that delivers hot meals to seniors in northern San Mateo County, told NBC News.
“People don’t live close to their loved ones anymore,” she said. “Sometimes people have outlived their loved ones in some cases. Your social circle shrinks after retirement. It’s harder for people to make friends.”
Around 45 percent of the seniors served by Meals on Wheels in northern San Mateo live alone, according to the organization.