The age-old art of letter writing is making a comeback in Australia in a bid to help those grappling with feelings of loneliness.
The letter-writing project has connected thousands of people through a pen pal system.
Since launching The Letterbox Project during the pandemic last year, Mea Campbell said she had seen a spike in connections developing ahead of the festive season.
"Christmas for a lot of us is a really happy time and you get to see your family and get excited," Ms Campbell said.
"It's a joyful time but actually for a lot of people it's the opposite of that.
Ms Campbell said with ongoing border closures people of all ages have been impacted by feelings of loneliness in 2021.
It is an observation backed up by the Red Cross's annual loneliness survey.
Of the 1,000 Australians surveyed, 1 in 3 people have felt lonely over the festive season, with higher rates among younger people and women.
Red Cross director of volunteering Penny Harrison said COVID-19 lockdowns contributed to the feeling of isolation.
"After a tumultuous year of snap lockdowns and significant restrictions across Australia, it's not surprising that people are feeling they have lost connections, are experiencing loneliness and are a little hesitant about the festive season," Ms Harrison said.
The survey also highlighted that 1 in 5 people who live alone, or who are over the age of 70, said they had not made plans for Christmas Day.
"Perhaps think about people in your network, pick up the phone, start a conversation. You might be surprised others are feeling the way you might be feeling too," Ms Harrison said.
Thousands of letters to strangers
About 25,000 Australians have looked to start those conversations with good old-fashioned pen and paper through The Letterbox Project.
"There are about 500 letters coming in a week," Ms Campbell said.
"But unlike any other pen pal program that exists, we don't share any personal information.
"For example: If you signed up today and you wrote to Max who might be 92, lives in Queensland, is a retired policeman; you would write to him knowing who you're writing to but you'd send it to our team, it's vetted against criteria and then we send it on to Max.
"And he can write back to you, but it's always just back through our team."
The Red Cross survey also found three-quarters of people were more aware of how vulnerable Australians were feeling.
Ms Harrison said that awareness likely came back to personal experience with COVID-19 lockdowns.
"I think that's probably because we've all experienced this pandemic in some form or another," she said.
"Perhaps we've got a greater degree of empathy for people because we've experienced something that some people in our community experience all year round."
'This has changed my life'
Ms Campbell said ongoing feedback on The Letterbox Project had been heartwarming.
"When someone signs up to get a letter if they're feeling lonely, they explain why and all that information is really touching.
"People really say, 'This has changed my life'."
