People turn to social clubs to create connection in Canberra

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The Australian capital, Canberra can be a lonely place with transient workers leaving young adults particularly without a strong social network. People are turning to social clubs as a popular option for those seeking community connection.

Transcript

00:00Canberra isn't known for its hustle and bustle.

00:05All I heard was it's very boring. That's all I knew.

00:08So when Kinneret Pazaka moved from India to the city of less than 500,000 people,

00:14its calm came as a shock to the system.

00:17You can just look at this garden and if it was Mumbai, there would be people sitting everywhere.

00:21But it was the feeling of knowing nobody that hit her harder.

00:25I think the first two months were quite lonely.

00:28Yeah, because you don't really make friends immediately.

00:30It can feel a little bit embarrassing in the start of like,

00:33oh, do you want to hang out with me or do you want to...

00:35So I think the first push is always really hard.

00:38Others craving connection in the capital tell a similar story.

00:42Being here for five years, I can't say I've got a solid group of girls or, you know, friends

00:47where I'm going to go out for a coffee or something.

00:50So yeah, it is a struggle building that connection.

00:53One in four Australians experience persistent loneliness.

00:57Among young people it's two in five, a rate experts believe is increasing.

01:03So loneliness is this emotion, the feeling inside you

01:07and people can describe it as maybe a feeling of being just empty.

01:11Loneliness is a crisis.

01:13So I had that jumped into me really early on and it's true.

01:18That feeling of being lonely can be overwhelming.

01:22Some are combating the issue head on.

01:25The Girls Club Canberra founders started the group earlier this year

01:29as a way to make friends through exercise.

01:3220 women showed up the first week, then 40 the week after and 80 the next.

01:38I was definitely nervous at the start.

01:40But within five minutes I started talking with some beautiful girls

01:44and I have formed some really beautiful friendships from that.

01:47In the last work I met two women who are really different from me

01:53but also really similar.

01:55So we formed a book club and we just finished with our first book.

01:59Many have struggled to simply find friends who don't leave the city.

02:04I met friends and they went to Hawaii and I was like, what do I do?

02:06I'm just, you know, with my loneliness sitting in my house, what do I do?

02:09There are a lot of people in the same boat, a lot of transient people moving through

02:14and sometimes that's how you make connections is that you recognise,

02:17oh, there's a group of people who are like me.

02:20I can connect with them on that.

02:22But also it can mean that there's a bunch of people out there

02:27who are all feeling adrift and alone.

02:30Ironically, it's a state that's brought these women together.

02:34You realise that you need to break out of whatever shell that you are in

02:39of these labels of introvert, extrovert

02:42and you need to make the first move and do it if you really want to.

02:46Taking steps in the right direction.

02:52Thank you for listening!

02:55Thank you very much.

02:56I appreciate it.

02:57I appreciate it.

03:05You're welcome.

03:09And thank you.

03:10You're welcome.

03:12I appreciate your connection.

03:13Thanks for the support.

03:15Grat you.

03:16Like you.

03:17Annie.

03:18Hello.

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