A local charity, Reading Voluntary Action (RVA), is hosting a forum on April 22, 2026, aimed at helping men in Reading, Berkshire, who feel lonely or cut off from their community. The forum will focus on ways to support men’s mental health and to build stronger local befriending and friendship networks across the town.
A January 2025 Pew Research Center report of U.S. adults found that, while men and women reported similar overall rates of loneliness, women were more likely than men to say they would turn to friends or family or to a mental health professional for emotional support — for example, the report found 54% of women versus 38% of men would turn to a friend, and 22% of women versus 16% of men would turn to a mental health professional. RVA organisers say the forum will consider how to close that gap locally, including promoting activity-based or ‘side-by-side’ approaches (walking, cycling, gardening or DIY projects) in addition to more traditional one-to-one befriending.
The event is being held as part of RVA’s Ready Friends project, which provides training, the Ready Friends Toolkit and volunteer recruitment support for people taking action on loneliness. RVA says the programme aims to reach at least 30% of the town’s most isolated men — an internal target for the project rather than a proven outcome — with the aim of improving well‑being and making it easier for isolated men to find local support.
Residents seeking information on volunteering or local support options can consult the Reading Directory (servicesguide.reading.gov.uk). The forum is likely to be held at the Reading International Solidarity Centre (RISC), 35–39 London Street, Reading (RG1 4PS); RVA’s Befriending Forums have historically used that venue and typically run in the morning (RVA usually schedules these sessions around 9:45am–1:00pm).
About this article: This story was put together with the help of AI tools and checked by a real person on our team. We're a small crew trying to cover as much of the UK as we can on a limited budget. We're getting better every day - but we're not perfect yet. If something looks off, let us know. You're part of the process.
