Woman sets up group to help tackle loneliness

Alanis Sibley-Ware shared her story of loneliness online

A woman has set up a community for women to make friends after sharing her story of post-university loneliness online.

Alanis Sibley-Ware, from Bournemouth, said The Girl Collective BCP's first meet-up will be a yoga class for all levels on 8 November, followed by a coffee.

The group for women in their 20s and 30s came about after Ms Sibley-Ware posted a TikTok, which gained more than 30,000 views, talking about the challenge of finding a "social space outside of work".

She added she struggled with "not being surrounded by people all the time" after living with eight people at university.

"It's that routine that you lose, of being surrounded by people all the time...," she said.

"I do go into the office every day and that is great, but it's that space outside of work when you're on social media and you see people doing all these amazing things and you think, 'oh I'm not going out and doing something every weekend'."

Ms Sibley-Ware added the first event sold out quickly and she even made a new friend called Saffy, who is helping with planning future socials.

"I put a poll up to say what do people want to do, as I want to make it as inclusive as possible, as not everyone is into sport – I want to have something for everyone," she said.

"A lesson I've learnt from all this is that it shows that if you are feeling a bit lonely and isolated, then you're not alone as there are so many people out there who feel the same."