Beyond Us & Them founder and Executive Director, Jared Seide, joined a panel of speakers as part of The Coalition to End Social Isolation and Loneliness‘s Global Loneliness Awareness Summit.
The panel focused on “Bringing Prosocial Values into Practice.” Joining Jared were Josh Penny, Director of Social Impact at Hinge, Ann Shocket, CEO of The Li.st and Founder of 10 Minutes to Togetherness and Frederick J. Riley, Executive Director of Weave: The Social Fabric Project at the Aspen Institute.
An epidemic of loneliness in the USA
The panel delved into the final pillar of U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy’s framework to advance social connection: building a culture of connection with ourselves, leaders, communities, and institutions.
Drawing from the principles of kindness, respect, service, and commitment to one another, panelists will illuminate how these values can be intentionally cultivated and integrated into policy initiatives by political and organizational leaders.
Dr. Murthy has spoken forcefully about the epidemic of social isolation and loneliness plaguing the nation. Research suggests that social disconnection can have as negative an impact on health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. When the timeless practice of council is skillfully executed, it has the ability to mitigate these negative health outcomes, while creating the conditions for more wholesome relationships and the opportunity for compassion to emerge.
Dedicated programs addressing the loneliness epidemic
Beyond Us & Them’s programming is grounded in the practice of council and the creation of structures of belonging, where participants are encouraged to speak authentically and listen from the heart, offering regard without judgement, as others share their stories. As Executive Director of the organization, Seide has helped create and steward council-based programming for prisons, schools, law enforcement agencies, healthcare settings, the reentry community, and for the general public that are intended to support the emergence of a culture of connection.
An LAPD officer participating in the Peace Officer Wellness, Empathy & Resilience (POWER) training program holds a talking piece while sitting in council. The team at Beyond Us & Them can help build a sustainable officer wellness program.
Why social connection matters
Beyond Us & Them promotes mutual respect, wellbeing and care by creating council-based programs and trainings that resource individuals and organizations in self-awareness, self-regulation, effective communication and relational skills to create the conditions for compassion to arise in community.
As stories are shared in council, participants recognize their shared human experience and profound interconnectedness. Council provides an opportunity to build bridges, repair divisions, deepen relationships and create community. The enacting of social connection in the practice of council leads to a deepening of trust and relationality and to reports of an increase in the felt sense of wellbeing and safety. Current biometric research is demonstrating observable and significant shifts in autonomic health, as well.
Jared Seide collects heart rate variability data from a participant in Beyond Us & Them’s POWER Training Program. The POWER training program is on the cutting-edge of scientific research on the physiological benefits on sitting in council.
If you miss Jared’s panel in DC, you can catch him June 10 on WUSA 9’s “Get Up DC” morning show with Allison Seymour discussing the work of Beyond Us & Them and the critical importance of social connection.
The Foundation for Social Connection and Coalition to End Social Isolation and Loneliness
The Foundation for Social Connection (F4SC) was founded in 2020 with the vision for all Americans to have the opportunities and evidence-based support necessary for a socially connected life. F4SC engages in education, increases public awareness, promotes innovative research, and spurs the development and implementation of evidence-based models that address social isolation and loneliness and promote social connection.
Since its founding in 2018, the Coalition to End Social Isolation & Loneliness has been advocating for policy change that addresses the adverse effects of social isolation and loneliness. The Coalition represents some of the most influential consumer groups, patient advocates, health plans, community-based organizations, behavioral health groups, and private sector innovators in the United States, all who share a mission to create a more socially connected nation. Through disseminating research findings and leading public awareness campaigns alongside its sister organization, the Foundation for Social Connection, and advocating for legislative and regulatory interventions, the Coalition envisions a society where every individual will one day have the opportunities and support necessary to be socially engaged.
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