AN ambassador for the Jo Cox Foundation addressed a conference of organisations striving to combat loneliness.

Voluntary and community organisations joined public and private sector bodies from across North Yorkshire to consider ways of creating and strengthening connections within communities.

The conference, hosted by North Yorkshire County Council, took place at Pavilions of Harrogate and its theme was ‘Neighbourly Communities’.

The main speaker was Kim Leadbeater, an ambassador for the Jo Cox Foundation, which was set up after the murder of her sister, MP Jo Cox, in June 2016.

The Foundation champions the importance of strong communities, inspired by Mrs Cox’s words: “We have far more in common than that which divides us.”

Ms Leadbeater told the conference about the work of the Foundation, which has fighting loneliness and building stronger communities as its priorities.

She said: “I realised really quickly that the way to succeed in our local area was by reaching out across the public, private and voluntary sector and working together.

“Because we had no agenda, that was relatively easy.

“I know it isn’t always that easy, particularly when it comes to funding and bids and that sort of stuff.

“But we transcended that and asked what is the best way to make a difference.”

Ms Leadbeater spoke of the work being done by the Foundation and the enthusiasm for the Great Get Together initiative that brings together people and communities that may not usually meet.

North Yorkshire has particular challenges with it being a large rural county with an elderly population.

Evidence shows that the impact of loneliness and isolation on mortality exceeds that of well-known risk factors such as obesity and is similar to cigarette smoking.

The conference allowed delegates to learn from successful projects and consider how they could help to make North Yorkshire more connected and neighbourly.

Issues discussed included the role of technology in tackling loneliness and the role of health and social care.

Carl Les, County Council leader, said: “I think it’s very important that we have an occasion where our partners and ourselves can come together, where we can share our experiences, our thoughts and build the bonds between us so that we can work together even better than we do.

“Having grown up in North Yorkshire and having lived here nearly all my life, I realise the value of the voluntary sector to the county. I don’t think the County Council could continue to run the county the way that we do without the input from the voluntary sector. It is just so critical to everything that we do.”