Loneliness Is a Policy Problem

Earlier this year the Surgeon General issued an advisory warning that even before the pandemic, half of all adults were suffering from loneliness and isolation — forces as harmful to their health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

San Antonio has an active program that fosters connection and cooperation among community members. In a conversation with Governing, Ann Helmke talks about how she approaches her job and how it led to an opportunity to help others do something about what the Surgeon General calls “an underappreciated public health crisis.” Read the interview here.