Chatty Café Australia is piloting Chatty Connect, a social prescribing initiative that links socially isolated or lonely individuals, particularly those visiting their GP or local pharmacy, with welcoming Chatty Café sessions hosted in Neighbourhood Houses and Community Centres.1 in 6 Australians experience severe loneliness. GPs and pharmacists are often the first contact point, yet they ...
The Chatty Cafe Scheme Australia Ltd.
Chatty Connect – A Social Prescribing Pilot
GOAL
$25,000
Australia > National / Multi-state > Metro and Regional
Field of Interest
- Health/wellbeing and medical research
- Social inclusion and justice
Target Population
- Seniors (65+)
- General population
The Chatty Cafe Scheme Australia Ltd.
We connect lonely and socially isolated people to their community for improved wellbeing.
Chatty Café Australia is a grass-roots, health-promotion charity tackling the growing crisis of loneliness and social isolation in our communities.
With 1 in 6 Australians experiencing severe loneliness, we offer a simple yet powerful solution: creating opportunities for connection through conversation.
Chatty Cafés offer a compassionate space – where a simple chat can help someone feel reconnected to the world.
There are over 230 of these welcoming spaces around Australia in cafés, libraries, neighbourhood houses, community centres, aged care and more, often supported by trained volunteers committed to social inclusion and wellbeing.
Project Summary
Chatty Café Australia is piloting Chatty Connect, a social prescribing initiative that links socially isolated or lonely individuals, particularly those visiting their GP or local pharmacy, with welcoming Chatty Café sessions hosted in Neighbourhood Houses and Community Centres.1 in 6 Australians experience severe loneliness. GPs and pharmacists are often the first contact point, yet they are not resourced to address the social causes of poor health.
Chatty Connect responds to this by trialling a supported referral pathway. A part-time Community Connector will receive referrals from local healthcare providers and link individuals with a nearby Chatty Café venue. A trained Volunteer Buddy will provide peer support to help participants attend their first session and feel more at ease. This pilot offers a soft entry into community life, helping people rebuild confidence, strengthen their sense of belonging, and access broader wellbeing activities.
By shifting non-medical concerns to community settings, this model can reduce avoidable GP visits and help free up clinical resources..
Project Outcomes
Through the Chatty Connect pilot, Chatty Café Australia aims to reduce social isolation and loneliness by connecting individuals – particularly those presenting at GPs or pharmacies with non-medical issues – to welcoming Chatty Café sessions in community settings such as Neighbourhood Houses and Community Centres. These informal, low-pressure spaces offer a “soft entry” point back into community life, helping individuals build confidence, reconnect socially, and access wider support services.
We are trialling a simple, supported referral model that builds a bridge between the healthcare system and community connection opportunities. The project will embed a part-time Community Connector to facilitate warm referrals and a Volunteer Coordinator to recruit and support Volunteer Buddies who accompany individuals to their first session.
Success will be measured through both qualitative and quantitative outcomes. These include the number of people referred and attending sessions, levels of engagement over time, and participant self-reports of reduced loneliness and increased wellbeing and confidence. We will also gather feedback from GPs, pharmacies, and community centre partners about ease of referral and perceived benefit.
Our evaluation framework, developed in partnership with a research collaborator, will track changes in participant outcomes and assess the model’s impact on reducing demand on the health system. We aim to demonstrate that small, community-based interventions can deliver significant personal and public value – and lay the groundwork for scaling social prescribing models across Australia.
Budget Breakdown
TOTAL BUDGET: $25,000
EXPENSES
| Expense item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Community Connector (Link Worker) – 1 day/week x 20 weeks @ $45/hr incl. oncosts | $7,200 |
| Volunteer Coordinator – 1 day/week x 20 weeks @ $45/hr incl. oncosts | $7,200 |
| Volunteer Buddies | $0 |
| Volunteer Support - 2. Volunteer Support Recruitment, onboarding, police checks, training session costs, materials | $2,000 |
| Project Setup & Resources - Communication tools, co-designed referral forms, flyers for GPs/pharmacies/community centres | $1,500 |
| CRM or data capture tool | $500 |
| Evaluation Framework - Research partner input: co-design of referral/triage model, light-touch outcome evaluation framework and report | $4,000 |
| Contingency & Miscellaneous - Travel reimbursements, printing, unexpected costs | $2,600 |
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