A local evaluation of Furness for You: a community intervention for loneliness and social isolation in Barrow-in-Furness

Wilbraham, Susan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8512-0041 (2025) A local evaluation of Furness for You: a community intervention for loneliness and social isolation in Barrow-in-Furness. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Furness For You (FFY) is a partnership of 10 charitable organisations working to reduce loneliness in Barrow-in-Furness. This area has a remote, coastal location and a proud industrial heritage. Defence remains the dominant industry here, BAE being the main employer. However, the region has significant inequalities with high levels of illhealth and deprivation. In 2023, using funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Know Your Neighbourhood Fund (KYN), FFY partners began providing a range of activities and services including social groups, crafts, one-to-one support, language classes, and volunteering opportunities. Each partner had its own specialisms and user groups (see Appendix 1). FFY partners met regularly to provide peer support, share resources, and pool expertise. Partners provided wrap-around care for each other's beneficiaries and worked on community events together to promote FFY.

In June 2024, the current evaluation was commissioned to evaluate the impact of FFY. A qualitative approach was taken to gain in-depth, contextualised insights from staff and beneficiaries. Key messages of the report are as follows:
1. Community interventions are effective in supporting social connections and reducing loneliness.
2. Beneficiary engagement requires sensitivity, patience, persistence, compassion, and skill.
3. Delivery needs flexibility to accommodate a range of needs and abilities, including fluctuations in health, finances, and availability.
4. Impact takes time as beneficiaries build trust, develop relationships, and gain skills slowly.
5. Developmental progress, including increased self-confidence, supports readiness for volunteering.
6. Partnership approaches are effective in providing holistic care for beneficiaries while increasing peer support and development for staff.

Item Type:	Report
Departments:	Institute of Health > Social Work, Children and Families
Additional Information:	Dr Sue Wilbraham, Associate Professor in Environment, Health and Wellbeing, University of Cumbria, UK.
Depositing User:	Anna Lupton
Date Deposited:	06 Oct 2025 13:45
Last Modified:	07 Oct 2025 08:00
URI:	https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/9098

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