The Antidote to Loneliness Has Been There the Whole Time

Shane Hewitt and The Nightshift · Apr 22, 2026 · 9m

Volunteering in Canada powers things most people take entirely for granted. Community events, sports leagues, hospital visits, search and rescue. Dr. Megan Conway says 24 million Canadians are part of that in some form. She also says the habit is slipping, down nearly 10% over the last five years, quietly and without much notice.

What Conway keeps coming back to is the word antidote. Volunteering does not just help the people on the receiving end. It does something specific for the person showing up, especially the person who has been feeling isolated and cannot quite name why.

Finding the…