191. SJI Interviews Ep118: Seán Moynihan and Aileen O’Reilly, ALONE on loneliness.

Aileen is the Senior Research & Evaluation Manager at ALONE. Prior to joining ALONE, Aileen worked at Jigsaw, The National Centre for Youth Mental Health, where her efforts played a critical role in the development of youth mental health services globally. Holding a PhD in psychology, she possesses a strong academic foundation that complements her practical experience. She has published research findings in reputable journals and has presented her work at numerous international conferences (see: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Aileen-Oreilly-2).

Seán is Chief Executive Officer of Alone. After a career within the private sector, Seán moved to the NGO sector 20 years ago, working as Head of Housing and then Director of Service for the Simon Community. He went on to work as a Project Manager and consultant , working with many NGOs for a number of years before becoming Chief Executive of ALONE. Seán has also been involved in multiple national oversight groups, and has played a role in influencing social and health policies for older people on housing, loneliness, and ageing at home, in order to meet emerging needs of an ageing population. He has played a key role in advocating and developing services for and with older people, particularly those who are medically or socially vulnerable and whose voices and views often go unheard.

Seán and Aileen chat with Susanne Rogers about their work, what we understand as loneliness, why it is damaging and what we can do about it. 

ALONE ECC Report

HALO Report

Loneliness Taskforce Research Network website

Loneliness Taskforce report  

The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) Report - Social disconnection correlates of a ‘Wish to Die’ among a large community-dwelling cohort of older adults

EU-wide survey on loneliness