The GenWell Project
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Mission Statement
A connected Canada where everyone thrives.
About This Cause
The GenWell Project, a registered Canadian Not For Profit, is Canada's Human Connection Movement, and has been working since 2016 to educate, empower, and catalyze human connection in workplaces, classrooms and communities across Canada. Our vision is to create a Human Connection Movement across this Canada, recognizing that social isolation, disconnection and loneliness should not be a medical issue but, instead, a societal issue that can be addressed by empowering all Canadians to recognize that they have the power to improve their own happiness, health and well-being through the act of connecting with others, and impacting the lives of those we connect with as well. The movement was built on the insight that we have been educating Canadians about the importance of exercise as a preventative action that we can all take to improve our well-being since 1971, and we have been educating people on the importance of eating well since 1942. More recently, we have educated people about the importance of sleep, water, and not smoking. We have directed people to improve their mental health with mindfulness, gratitude, yoga, breathing and more. Each of these activities are a powerful step in helping people manage through the ups and downs that we may face in life, but they don't address the need we have for social connection. Research in the last 30 years has highlighted that social connection (social health) is now more important to your overall health than physical activity, and persistent loneliness can have the same negative health consequences as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. The unique aspect of social health vs. mental or physical health is that one cannot do it on their own. The name in itself indicates that we must do it with others, thus making the need for a greater collective awareness so critical. By doing so we can increase the likelihood that when someone reaches out for the support of another, that the other person may be more open to making time because they recognize the role that they may be playing in the life of someone else. Additionally, by educating the broader population, we empower Canadians that are feeling socially connected and healthy to open their hearts, their minds and their networks to others, because they recognize the significance of such a gesture. We all have the power to heal. Some of the negative consequences of social isolation, disconnection and loneliness are as follows: - Higher rates of depression, anxiety and suicide. - 29 per cent increased risk of a heart attack or angina and a 32 per cent heightened risk of having a stroke. - A 50% percent increased risk of dementia. - A doubling the risk of Type-2 diabetes after the age of 50. - Social isolation significantly increased a person’s risk of premature death from all causes, a risk that may rival those of smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity. - Increased risk of early onset mortality, by up to 50% As we are now on the other side of masking and physical distancing, there has never been a better time for us to share this message, inspire connection and help build the more connected Canada where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.