People First Radio, November 05, 2026People First Radio, November 05, 2026
People First Radio
The episode focuses on Nanaimo’s Social Connection Month, highlighting social prescribing for older adults, libraries as community hubs, and research linking relationships to health. Guests share practical ways to reduce loneliness, from library programmes to texting old friends and taking small everyday steps toward connection.
0:00•5 Nov 2026
Social Connection Month: How Friends, Libraries and ‘Old Texts’ Can Boost Your Health
Episode Overview
- Social prescribing in Nanaimo links adults over 55 with community activities, health care, legal and housing support, and even a companion for first visits to new groups.
- Many participants in the social prescribing programme report extreme isolation, with about 90% lacking an emergency contact, yet show big gains in quality of life once connected.
- Libraries act as inclusive, no-cost spaces where people can meet through book clubs, crafts, teen lock-ins, technology like 3D printers and recording studios, and informal chats.
- Research summarising data from over 300,000 people suggests strong social relationships significantly improve survival chances and may rival risks like smoking and inactivity.
- Studies indicate people consistently underestimate how warm and positive interactions with old friends, acquaintances and strangers will feel, making it helpful to start with small, simple gestures of contact.
“When we ask people what matters to you, then we start to hear what people need, and we can start to introduce help in a different way.”
What drives someone to seek a life with richer connection rather than quiet isolation? This People First Radio episode spends an hour on exactly that question, through three very different but complementary conversations. First up, Joe Pugh speaks with Cora Leschert from Nanaimo Family Life Association about social prescribing for adults over 55.
She explains how “social prescribing is basically this idea that all of the things that we need to fully engage with our community… sometimes need a little bit of hand-over-hand support.” Community connectors help older adults tackle barriers like transport, low income, fear of going somewhere alone, and simply not knowing what’s out there.
One chilling detail: “90% of the folks that we connected with did not have somebody that they would consider close enough to be an emergency contact.” Next, librarian Casey Stepaniuk talks about libraries as free, inclusive “third spaces” that quietly keep people connected.
From low‑barrier book clubs and knitting circles to teen lock‑ins, VR headsets and even a recording studio, the library becomes a place where “people can social connect without barriers.” It’s a gentle nudge to anyone who thinks libraries are just about silent reading. Finally, PhD student Christina Castanetto from SFU’s Helping and Happiness Lab breaks down research on how relationships affect health. Large studies suggest that lacking quality social ties can be as harmful as well‑known risks like smoking.
She notes that people often hugely underestimate how pleasant social contact will feel, whether it’s texting an old friend or chatting with a stranger, and encourages starting small: holding a door, running errands with someone, sending a quick “hi, thinking of you.” Anyone interested in recovery, mental health, or simply feeling less alone will find practical ideas and some gentle challenges here. Who might benefit if you reached out today?
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.