Introducing David Heap, our new Policy & Consultancy Manager

I've worked in the charity sector for the past 30 years and held service development and campaigning roles which have supported disabled children and adults to overcome obstacles and improve their lives. As a deaf person, I am aware of the social barriers faced by disabled people and am passionate about tackling the causes of isolation and hope my experiences to date will go some way to improving social connections amongst all communities. In addition to our policy work, we will be looking to develop and launch a new consultancy service to help our clients improve their own service provision to isolated and lonely older people. 

A historic milestone was reached on 23 May 2025 when the World Health Assembly adopted a landmark resolution recognising that social connection is an urgent public health priority. The resolution highlights the mounting evidence showing social connection’s essential role in shaping the health and well-being of people of all ages, across the world. Over 130 countries - individually or as part of regional groupings - voiced their support, showing broad and powerful recognition of the importance of strengthening social connections for better health and wellbeing across all regions of the world. We welcome the report's findings, having responded to the initial WHO survey, and will continue to be an active participant in the WHO Social Connection Forum as part of our ongoing efforts to ensure that loneliness and isolation are not forgotten. 

The Re-engage Policy team is hard at work developing our first policy and influencing strategy. We would like to extend our gratitude to the volunteers who provided their input through our regional volunteer advisory groups and to the older people who responded to our winter 2024 edition of Time Together magazine. Input from our stakeholders is key to developing a representative strategy, and we are delighted to have you on board. There will be more about this to come in future months.  

We have also been busy attending some key events and meetings:  

• This year we have attended two advisory group meetings held by the Campaign to End Loneliness, and we look forward to attending the annual conference in September. 

• Following participation in a policy workshop last year, we attended the launch of the 'Shifting representations of ageing in advertising, the media, and the creative industries' report at the House of Lords at the beginning of May. 

• We joined the Scottish Forum on Isolation and Loneliness in May, representing the voices of older people within a group that will feed back to the Scottish government. 

Together, we are amplifying the voices of older people in policy and decision making.

We look forward to working with you and if you would like to make contact the best way to get hold of us is to email impact@reengage.org.uk