Spark has been born from The Loneliness Project which is a community co-design collaboration between the University of South Australia and The Hut Community Centre tasked with creating solutions to tackle loneliness. Spark has evolved into a social venture with a suite of new programs which aim to ignite human connection!

Why Loneliness?

Humans are designed to be social beings and relationships are integral to our survival. A myriad of social changes over time has resulted in our communities feeling less connected, and individuals experiencing increasing levels of loneliness. The World Health Organisation has declared loneliness and social isolation as a global health epidemic and studies have compared chronic loneliness to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, can have the same health impacts as obesity, as well as an increased risk of depression and cognitive decline. One in three Australians report that they feel lonely. Spark is committed to creating evidence based community-led solutions to address this important global challenge which affects all communities, and to shine a light on loneliness as a shared human experience.

Igniting Connection across the Adelaide Hills!

The Spark suite of initiatives have launched across the Adelaide Hills in October 2024.  Spark is for anyone who is wanting to connect – if you’re new to the area, want to make new friends, feeling lonely or isolated or simply love meeting people – we’re a community designed for connection and everyone is welcome.   Spark is excited to work collaboratively with Community Centres and the Community Connections Program to help activate these diverse evidence-based solutions. The suite of programs together, and local collaborative relationships, is what makes Spark’s impact innovative, and our programs together are stronger than the sum of their parts.

Spark Conversation   Come along to our welcoming sessions in venues across the Hills to spark connection, conversation and friendship. 

  • Mondays 1-2.30pm at The Olive Branch Balhannah,
  • Tuesdays 10am-12pm at the Oak & Iron Mount Barker,
  • Wednesdays 10am-12pm at The Britannia Kanmanto 
  • Thursdays 5.30-7pm at Miss Perez Stirling

Spark Social   Connect as a group to share joyful experiences and activities together. Follow Spark on social media Facebook or Instagram to find out about the upcoming Spark Social events.

Spark Self Connection   Join our 8 week personal development program to inspire courage, nurture a positive relationship within yourself and enhance connection with others.  Experienced practitioners Lia and Elja Parsons lead these impactful sessions using meaning conversation and art therapy techniques.  Our next series starts on Saturday 15th February and bookings can be made here. 

Spark Mateship   A new program for men coming in 2025!

Spark The Podcast   A platform which shines the spotlight on loneliness, shares real life stories and provides listeners with tools they can implement in their daily lives to enhance connection. Coming in 2025!

Sparkies – Our Volunteer Team

Spark is supported by a constellation of people who are passionate about igniting human connection. Sparkies are registered volunteers who are provided with training to better understand the importance of nurturing good social health, learn the skills of how to be genuinely inclusive, be tooled to spark connection between others, and will join us to spread the message that loneliness is a shared human experience not to be hidden behind stigma. Sparkies will host Spark initiatives, be out in the community igniting connection and will help the Spark team behind the scenes!

A Culture of Connection

At Spark we aim to create a culture in which:

  • Everyone is welcome,
  • We inspire courage in others and in ourselves,
  • We acknowledge that loneliness is a shared human experience,
  • We spark joy for each other and our community.

We believe that each small action of connection can ignite big change!

We would love for you to connect with us!

Connect with Spark on social media to keep up to date Facebook or Instagram or sign up to the Spark Newsletter and the Spark Connection website will be coming soon!

The Spark Team would love to hear from you so please feel very welcome to connect with Hayley, Jodie or Nadia in person anytime.

Our Partners

We are privileged to work with a wide range of partners who are providing funding, support and advising the project from implementation, research and scaling up.

  • UniSA Rosemary Bryant Research Centre
  • Premiers Council for Women
  • University of Adelaide
  • Centre for HiAP Research Translation
  • Monash University
  • Uniting Communities
  • Office for Ageing Well
  • University of Melbourne
  • Health Translations SA
  • Community Centres SA
  • Australia Post