Our mission is to combat loneliness and social isolation. We want every customer or visitor to leave our shop feeling better connected with the community. By reinvesting every penny of profit in to House of Books & Friends, “Every book sold makes a difference”.

We believe that bookshops are important spaces for creating a sense of community. Loneliness can affect anyone of any age. It can come about for lots of different reasons; the loss of a close one, moving to a new area, children moving away, a loss of confidence, the loss of a job etc.

Loneliness can have a devastating effect on someone’s life, often leading to depression and sometimes the taking of a person’s own life or an unbearable sadness that a person lives with for the rest of their life. It can become exaggerated by a society that values social media but has lost the value of close friends and neighbours. In an age where we have the opportunity to be more connected than ever, there are people who go for days, weeks and even months without having a conversation.

Statistics.

There are a number of specific groups most at risk; being aged 16 to 24, being widowed, having poor health, having a long-term illness or disability, having caring responsibilities and being unemployed. The ONS report turned these 5 risk factors into 3 profiles of lonely people:

• Widowed older homeowners living alone with long-term health conditions
• Unmarried, middle agers, with long-term health conditions
• Younger renters with little trust and sense of belonging to their area.

In total, 45% of adults feel occasionally, sometimes or often lonely in England. This equates to over twenty five million people*.

*Research from Campaign to End Loneliness

The way we work.

House of Books & Friends has been set up as a Community Interest Company (meaning it seeks to benefit the community rather than private shareholders) and will offer initiatives for customers and businesses through pay it forward schemes, as well as opportunities to make connections with their community through events and a café.

Projects funded by book sale profits will engage the square mile around the shop, working alongside local charities to combat social isolation and connect a wide breadth of people including the elderly, new parents, and local schools.

We aim to grow our network of bookshops across the country and the set up and initial running of the shops is funded by gunnercooke llp.