Statistics in Denmark show that more than 210.000 Danes often feel lonely, which is roughly 1/25 of the entire population.
I too felt lonely for many years, but that all changed December 7th 2016, when I wrote the message you see below.
“I am desperate to meet new friends. I’m lonely and going through the hardest period of my life. I’ll sit on the stairs in front of the town hall from 2pm to 8pm. I have black pants and a North Face bag on.” You can read what happened here.
In December of 2016 I started a free nationwide peer-to-peer network in Denmark, where lonely people could find new friends and someone who they could relate to. To help new members getting settled, I would invite them into my home each week for dinner, parties or game nights.
It was very important for me, that every member had a good first time experience and would leave feeling part of a community.
In January of 2017 I decided to take a student loan so that I could throw weekly dinner parties for free. I knew most of our members were students with limited means, so I wanted to eliminate the financial aspect so that everyone could participate.
Occasionally I would even offer members transportation money, so that they join the rest of us.
By March of 2017 the network had grown to 10,000 members and I had made the decision to drop out of my education as a programmer.
I wanted to commit 100% to my voluntary work, but that also meant that I would not have any income, except from a few public speaking gigs.
All of these people, myself included, chose to reach out and ask for help and now none of us is alone.
I feel like this story could help and inspire a lot of people sitting at home feeling lonely. Long-term loneliness can be dangerous, it can effect both your physical and mental health, so please reach out to someone. We are not alone!
P.S.
I am currently planning a non-commercial 20,000 km walk from Denmark to China to raise international awareness about loneliness.
It would be of great help, if you guys would like and follow my Facebook page.
The more followers, the better chances I have of finding sponsors.
I thank you for your time.
To understand how personal stories can deeply connect us and reshape our perceptions of community, you might find insights from this piece on immersive cultural experiences particularly enriching, as it highlights how individuals blend into new environments to bring stories to life.
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