From Loneliness to Connection

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Expert Night for Battery Powered’s Combating Loneliness theme kicked off on March 18 with a bespoke, interactive performance by Melanie Ambler of Musical Rounds and Silvi Alcivar of The Poetry Store.

They were brought in to create a bridge between the emotional core of the loneliness theme and the more analytical conversation of the expert panel.

In advance of the event, members were invited to submit 30-second audio responses to two questions: “What makes you feel lonely?” and “When you are lonely, what brings you out of it?” Melanie wove these recordings into a continuous track and, at Expert Night, layered them with an improvised cello performance. As the voices and music unfolded, Silvi composed spontaneous poetry, which she then performed live for the audience.

The performance set a powerful tone for the panel that followed.

Moderator Tom Silverman, a longtime Battery Powered member and current Battery Creative in Residence, skillfully moderated a dynamic, all-female panel.

Common Sense Media President Karla Martin spoke about the need for young people to better understand how and when social media and technology tools can be beneficial to personal growth and development, and when they are detrimental. She emphasized the importance of guidance “when their frontal lobes are still forming, and they haven’t yet mastered independent executive function.”

Psychologist Dr. Shirley Collado, President & CEO of two-time Battery Powered grantee College Track, highlighted the compounded challenges faced by first-generation, low-income students—from loneliness to academic and economic barriers—across the long path from high school to career.

Martha Ehrenfeld, a community organizer, philanthropist, and president of Inner Sunset Park Neighbors (a San Francisco Resurgence grantee) underscored the need for low-barrier, in-person social opportunities, from bridge groups to pickleball. She noted the unique power of activities like pickleball to foster multigenerational connection: "Sports like pickleball enable 20-year-olds and 80-year-olds to play competitively together and form relationships that they otherwise would never be able to find in today's society."

Youth leader and activist Mikayla Lynch, a youth advisory board member of Freedom Forward (a Women's Health & Dignity grantee) adeptly and passionately shared her firsthand perspective. She spoke about her family’s experience with housing insecurity and the times when she simultaneously craved both solitude and companionship. She poignantly shared a moment at Freedom Forward's HYPE Center when, while she sought comfort in a soundproof booth, other young people reached out to ensure she was safe—an act of quiet, meaningful care.

The evening ended where it began. As the panel concluded, Silvi returned to the stage to perform a poetic reflection on the discussion, accompanied by Melanie’s live cello.

To experience the evening, watch the full Expert Night video below. Silvi’s poems can be found HERE.

For more information on Musical Rounds and Melanie Ambler, visit melanieambler.com.
For more information on Silvi Alcivar, visit thepoetrystore.net.