Neighbour Day 2025 – Helen’s story

March 18, 2025

Increasingly, Australians are living more disconnected lives than they have in the past, and experiences of loneliness and social isolation are on the rise. Since 2003, Neighbour Day has taken place annually on the last Sunday of March. It was developed in response to increasing levels of concern about the disconnection between neighbours in local communities. The theme for 2025 is Create, Share, Grow Belonging, and Australians are being called on to foster a sense of belonging in their neighbourhoods and beyond. 

That sense of belonging is an experience that Helen has worked hard to cultivate over many years. Helen has always valued connection with her neighbours, but the importance of this connection was amplified during COVID-lockdowns. “Connecting with my neighbours gave me structure and purpose during lockdowns,” Helen said. When lockdowns were lifted and life returned to normal, Helen’s neighbourly connections continued to grow from strength to strength. To this day, Helen factors neighbour time into her weekly schedule and the benefits go many ways.   

“When lockdowns began, I found myself home alone. I was retired and all my activities had come to a halt,” says Helen. “My neighbour, Emma was 10-years-old at the time and living with her dad. Her mum has a serious illness and couldn’t live at home. Emma was trying to complete her schoolwork online, but she was struggling.” 

One day, Helen offered for Emma to come over and supervise her while she did her schoolwork. This ended up becoming a daily ritual for six weeks in 2020 and four months in 2021. “Emma would come over from 9am-3pm, and we came up with a daily schedule that included morning tea, lunch and a lunchtime walk. We had lots of fun working on Emma’s school projects together. One of the highlights was filming a video of Emma as a journalist. We talked about the story, wrote the script, created a costume and wrote up cue cards. It was a great experience for both of us,” Helen says. When Emma was working independently on her schoolwork, Helen often came up with her own projects to work on concurrently. 

During their lunch-time walks, Helen and Emma would visit their 90-year-old neighbour, Mrs Downs. “We would sit out the front of her house and chat at a distance,” Helen recalls. “I was concerned that Mrs Downs was locked up. She is a very outgoing person, and I was worried for her wellbeing.” 

When lockdowns were lifted, Helen’s connections with Emma and Mrs Downs continued to grow. “Emma is 15 now, and we continue to have a strong connection,” Helen says. “Once a week, I meet Emma at the train station after school. We walk home together, and I teach her sewing for an hour at my place.” With her mum in residential care, Emma benefits from having another significant person in her life check in with her once a week. “I am someone who she can choose to talk to, and she’s spoken to me about a few things that have been going on at high school,” Helen says. Emma’s father values another person taking an interest in his daughter and he is very grateful.  

Recently, Helen supported Emma to find a new GP. “Emma now has a wonderful female GP. This was really significant for her, as it is another person who she has built trust with,” Helen says.  

For Helen, it has been a privilege to connect with a young person, “I love spending time with young people, talking to them, listening to them and contributing to their lives.” 

Mrs Downs, who is now 95-years-old, continues to connect regularly with Helen. “Every Tuesday, I take Mrs Downs out for coffee. She is very mentally sharp, and we have great conversation,” says Helen. Helen describes the benefits of her connection with Mrs Downs as two-way. “It enables Mrs Downs to get out of the house and for me it gives me a new friend. The ongoing relationship is delightful. We all need meaning, purpose and connection and it gives me these things. In retirement, I don’t have a paid job, but I build purpose and connection through these relationships with my neighbours. For me, I find practical service rewarding and I see this as my voluntary work.” 

As we celebrate Neighbour Day 2025, Helen’s story proves that neighbourhood connections don’t need to involve extravagant street parties or grand gestures. They can start with a simple conversation, a display of interest in someone’s life and small acts of compassion.  

For more information and resources for Neighbour Day, visit Neighbours Every Day  

* Stock image used to protect the privacy of those featured in this story