Today we are delighted to announce that Joinable is launching its public beta. We spent the past year redesigning our app from the ground up, and couldn't be more excited for you to check it out.

We created Joinable out of our collective desire to strengthen the social fabric of our neighborhoods and communities, which has become frayed in recent years. You can see it in our neighborhoods: 25% of millennial adults don’t know the name of even a single neighbor, and 58% have never been to a neighborhood gathering. And what's really concerning is that the lack of social connections like these seems to be impacting our mental health: 36% of Americans now say they feel “serious loneliness”.

The good news is that there are some rather obvious ways to improve things. In 2020, an international team of researchers asked 18 of the foremost experts on the science of happiness to list the most effective and feasible ways for individuals to increase their happiness. The results couldn’t have been clearer: #1, spend time with friends and family, and #2, join a club. Basically, get together in real life, with people you know, to do something that’s meaningful to you.

Joinable is altogether different from social media. It’s a simple communication hub purpose-built (with love) for neighborhoods and other community groups, like book clubs, PTA committees, and parent groups. It supports people in actually getting to know each other, staying connected, and planning in-person events.

And it's working. During our private beta, we helped eight different neighborhoods in Mill Valley and Oakland adopt and use Joinable to connect. The neighbors in those groups report feeling happier, safer, and more connected. Most importantly, they are more likely to help each other with small things - like offering a helping hand, charging up during a power outage, or finding a lost pet.

If you feel inspired by the idea of reconnecting American communities, please join us. Here are three ways you can get involved: (1) check out Joinable group by installing the mobile app from the App Store, (2) introduce us to anyone you know who organizes a neighborhood group, and of course (3) share this post so that more people can learn about Joinable and this important mission.

Thank you for listening. We are stronger together.