13 Free or Low-Cost Things You Can Do Now to Deal With Loneliness

5. Visit a house of worship. Churches and synagogues frequently host social events and volunteer opportunities, and provide a sense of community.

6. Seek intergenerational connections. Young and old can learn from one another.

Eldera, which matches people 60 or older as mentors for kids 5 to 17, is billed as a global virtual village where generations are brought together. Mentor and child have weekly 30- to 90-minute meetups over Zoom to read books, share stories, play games and discuss practically anything. Mentors assume a kind of honorary grandparent or aunt/uncle role.

“They have to figure out their own relationship,” Eldera CEO Dana Griffin says. “The magic that two people can create together is so far above anything we could imagine.”

Mentors are all U.S.-based, must pass a background check and meet Eldera’s “kindness, generosity and curiosity” requirements. Only a parent or legal guardian can sign up their kids, who come from 27 countries.

The service is free for both mentors and parents, though Eldera has a waiting list. Eldera intentionally does not pair mentors and kids who live in the same geographic area for safety reasons, but Griffin says the mentors routinely get together on Zoom and sometimes in person.

The AARP Foundation’s Experience Corps can help you make a one-on-one connection in your community. In more than 20 cities across the country, volunteers 50 and older help young readers become great readers.

AARP

Expand your circle

7. Reach out to strangers. Never mind that you were long ago taught not to talk to strangers.

Tiny Habits author BJ Fogg suggests visiting a park at the same time each day. Note the other people around. If comfortable, strike up a conversation with folks who appear approachable.

Eldera's Griffin also suggests reaching out to people you don’t know personally. If you enjoy an article, newsletter or book, let the author know, she says.

You’ll make their day better and reap your own benefits. She also says to say hello to someone you come across in your neighborhood, at the store or library. Ask them about their day. 

8. Play video games. Multiplayer video games and electronic sports, known as e-sports, can be extraordinarily social. You might compete against other avid gamers or play more casually for fun.

Either way, you can bond with players in gaming communities or on streaming sites such as Twitch and YouTube. You might even become a rock star with your kids or grandkids.

9. Host a cocktail party. “We’re all lonely after COVID, you know, and [now] we’ve got to dust off the COVID cobwebs,” says Nick Gray, author of The 2-Hour Cocktail Party: How to Build Big Relationships With Small Gatherings. He recommends hosting a casual cocktail party, complete with name tags, reminder messages and a little bit of structure to break the ice.

“You’re going to help your friends make new friends, and then ... you’re going to be the center of attention,” he says.

The most obvious question: Who should you invite? Gray suggests reaching out to neighbors you may know only a little.

“Everybody wants to know someone who brings people together,” he says. “Whenever you invite someone to an event, it’s like a little gift you get to give them.”

One theme Gray recommends for a party: a book swap. You and your guests lay books you no longer want on a table, free for anyone to pick up. But it’s less about the books and more about the inevitable mingling that occurs. It might even lead to a regular book club.

Take on a boarder, earn extra income

10. Rent a spare room. If you’re a widow, retiree or empty nester, the house where you raised a family can feel awfully barren. Consider renting out a spare room. Besides finding companionship, you may earn a bit of extra income and even get someone to pitch in with light chores.

While not all people who live alone are lonely, it is the second biggest risk factor behind the death of a spouse, according to two studies a decade apart. About 14 million adults 65 and older lived alone in 2021, a 30 percent increase from 2010, according to Census Bureau estimates.

“The benefits of this are not just the social connections that are made, but it’s actually an opportunity for older adults to give back,” says Noelle Marcus, chief executive of an online home sharing portal called Nesterly, which caters to older people seeking to rent rooms in greater Boston; Columbus, Ohio; and Louisville, Kentucky.

Rooms are often rented to grad students who may stick around an entire semester or longer. Tenants must rent for at least a month.

Hosts determine the rent, which is sometimes reduced for renters who help around the house. Nesterly takes a modest fee and handles background checks for both the homeowner and renter. Licensed social workers are on staff to assist with any issues that arise.

You may find similar services in your area by consulting the National Shared Housing Resource Center.

11. Check your health insurance plan for benefits that might help. Certain Medicare Advantage, Medicaid or other health insurance plans may offer services such as Papa, which Vice President of Health and Social Impact Ellen Rudy says is about providing companionship. As a free member benefit, Papa will send a so-called Papa Pal to your front door.

“You start with, ‘I’m here to listen to you. I’m here to play a game with you. I’m here to help around the house,’ ” says Rudy. A Papa Pal may help you garden, move boxes, pick up groceries or prescriptions, or drive you to the doctor.

“A lot of older adults lose transportation. And sometimes that loss contributes to loneliness,” she says.

Getty Images

12. Follow your purpose. Griffin recommends thinking of three things you enjoy doing the most — cooking, gardening, reading stories, sports, whatever.

Or make a list of the things you have always wanted to learn more about. Then poke around to find a free class online or at a local community college or university. You will learn a new skill and meet people interested in the same subjects.

13. Visit AARP.org

• You can get training to be a Friendly Voice volunteer to check in and talk with people who have asked to be contacted. Or you might want to request a call yourself.
• At AARP Foundation’s Connect2Affect website, created in collaboration with four other groups, you can discover help in 10 categories based on your ZIP code. It also has a quiz to see if you’re at risk for social isolation.
• At AARP’s Virtual Community Center, you’ll find scores of interactive classes for fun, such as dancing, restorative yoga and wines of the Western U.S. Or you can exercise your brain and learn about topics such as Medicare, new technology, preventing fraud or retirement planning. (Links to Movies for Grownups screenings are also available. You could have a watch party on your big-screen TV.)
• At aarp.org/local, enter your ZIP code to find free events and opportunities in your area.
• Meanwhile, AARP affiliate Senior Planet offers free virtual fitness and other classes, including some on learning to use technology. It also has in-person centers in Denver, New York City and Plattsburgh, New York. It partners with other sites to offer classes in Montgomery County, Maryland, near Washington, D.C.; and San Antonio and Bexar County, Texas.

“Older people tend to have stronger and better friendships than young people when they form them,” says Thomas Kamber, executive director of Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) and Senior Planet. “Technology becomes a chance to kind of make and create those opportunities for people. But you’ve got to close the deal by reaching out, sending somebody a personal message [and] by eventually putting down the computer and going for lunch.”

This story, originally published June 27, 2022, was updated to reflect the Surgeon General public health advisory on the loneliness epidemic.