Social Summit: From Isolation to Connection

Strathcona County’s Social Summit on social issues and community connection

About the Social Summit

Strathcona County Family and Community Services hosted the 2019 Social Summit: From Isolation to Connection, on December 9–10, 2019 in Sherwood Park, Alberta.

The conference created a space for community practitioners, innovators and change agents to think and learn about loneliness and social isolation: an emerging public health crisis at the root of our society’s most challenging problems.

The Summit’s main focus was on Social Isolation as a public health crisis. Society is more connected than ever before, but individuals are feeling increasingly alone. Loneliness and social isolation are increasingly recognized as public health issues that have adverse effects on physical and mental health, and overall wellbeing (source: Government of Ontario, Connected Communities¹ report). Individuals who are socially isolated have an increased likelihood of early mortality when compared to those who have strong community connections¹. Furthermore, social isolation is a known risk factor for a variety of adverse health conditions, including depression and dementia.

The importance of connected communities

There are prevalent links between an individual’s community connection and overall health. Individuals who experience a strong sense of community belonging are observed to experience good mental and general health and are less susceptible to chronic conditions¹. The benefits of connected communities are not only found at the individual level. Communities, where people feel connected, have less crime, experience positive economic growth, and are more likely to work collaboratively to address systemic issues.

We had an amazing time at the Social Summit 2019 and hope you did too!

We appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedules to learn about the mounting effects of social isolation and what we can do to help create a culture of connection. We can’t wait for all the great things you accomplish in 2020.

Keep your eyes on this page and the Social Framework page, as we share learnings from the conference and learnings about connection in Strathcona County