Hallbankgate Hub staff, committee and volunteers are currently taking up training with Dementia Carers Count to create an awareness and appreciation of the 700,000 families in the UK who care for people with dementia.
It’s a subject close to the heart of the Hub with dementia affecting the lives of our community and we wanted to ensure that we can be supportive.
Our first training session with Dementia Carers Count trainer Lorraine involved some conversations around awareness, and ‘simulation training’. This training uses props such as glasses and gloves to mimic some of the more physical symptoms of dementia, and asks you to complete tasks in challenging circumstances such as with loud music or unclear direction. The conversations after this highlight the frustrations and difficulties in everyday challenges such as memory, communication and motor skills and serve to help understand how we can support those who are struggling with this.
This partnership is all about the Hub being as welcome a place as possible for all of our community, and was set in place by Tom, whose father was long-time Hallbankgate resident Bill McLaughlan. You may remember him; he had a habit of forgetting names so – male or female, old or young – you were Blossom to him. Sadly Bill’s passed away now but we’ve created Blossoms, a dementia friendly group, to enhance the already warm welcome at the Hub. It’s a place to meet people with common interests and share experiences over a coffee. And it reminds us that forgetting a name is never a problem; instead, it’s a chance to feel the warmth of those around us.
We have the second part of our training next week and we hope to build on this partnership to explore any environmental changes we can make to the shop and cafe, and possible host some dementia friendly group sessions that our community can attend.
You can find out more about the training, podcasts and support that Dementia Carers Count can offer at their site. If you want to know more about the ‘Blossom’ group, keep an eye on our social media, email Tom at daruma3@gmail.com or ask at the Hub.
