Living Well with Dementia, Southside Partnership

Description

LWwD currently runs several weekly activity groups – our Sweet Memories Choir, Keep
Moving Keep Well Physical Exercise group, Aces bridge club, Sunshine Dancers Movement to Music and Friday Friends and Thursday Together Art groups – all of which are inclusive of people with dementia. These activities take place in community settings and are led by trained professionals and supported by a large group of volunteers.
Volunteers are the cornerstone of the Living Well with Dementia programme. They are critical to our success and bring expertise, experience and a unique perspective to the socialisation and activities component of LWwD. We currently have thirty-eight active volunteers, many of whom have been involved with us since 2013. All activities are tailored to allow those with a dementia diagnosis to participate. Our activities have been shown to increase self-awareness, encourage social interaction, help with depression,
provide fun and healthy self-expression, maintain and, at times, improve memory and cognitive function. LWwD encourages all people to help maintain good brain health by increasing their levels of socialisation and engagement with others. One hour of social interaction a week or ten minutes per day can decrease the risk of cognitive decline. Our social networks both support and challenge our brains. Socialisation also creates a feeling of inclusion and reduces loneliness and isolation. Research has found that satisfaction with social networks and engaging in social activities helped older adults maintain their cognitive abilities.
Living Well with Dementia has been instrumental in improving the lives of people living with dementia since its inception in 2013. Dementia is the second largest adult health concern globally. In Ireland, the level of dementia is projected to more than triple over the next 25 years (from 50,000 to 150,000 people). Unfortunately, due to lack of education and awareness there is still a significant stigma associated with a diagnosis of dementia, and persons with dementia, their families and carers are often left isolated and afraid. The aim of LWwD is to reduce the stigma associated with dementia and to be a source of empowerment, education and support to people living with dementia, their family members, health care workers and members of the public. Our philosophy is to build relationships and friendship for people on their dementia journey and to create a safe space and a sense of belonging, for our participants and for those caring for them.

Aim of Initiative

The aim of our programme is to listen to the person with dementia, their primary carers and families, in order to identify, develop and deliver effective supports. Our goal is to ensure that people with a dementia diagnosis are supported to remain living at home and active in their community for as long as possible. Our key message is to See the Person and not their Dementia. We want people with dementia to continue to enjoy their lives, and to continue to participate fully in their hobbies and pastimes without feeling stigmatised or different. We also aim to provide a safe space for family carers where they can benefit from peer-to-peer support from others on the dementia journey and where they can receive advice and support. This service is unusual in that it is delivered primarily by a volunteer team.

Who is it aimed at

Our programme is open to all older adults but is particularly welcoming to those with a dementia diagnosis, their families, and carers.

3 Steps critical to success

1. The programme would absolutely not be possible without the support of an amazing team of volunteers. Funding received would not be sufficient to pay the number of staff that would be required to look after the programme and we rely completely on the goodwill of our volunteer team.
2. Awareness and support of our programme by the HSE and clinical staff working in DLR Rathdown. We rely on referrals from our colleagues in the health services to direct people to our programme of activities.
3. Knowing our participants and creating a safe space, where people feel seen and heard and where friendships and acceptance are a priority.

3 Challenges in Planning / Delivery

1. As dementia is a progressive disease and differs for each person it is impossible to determine how long each individual will remain with the programme. Strong attachments are made, and it can be very difficult when we invariable find that due to a progression in their dementia some people may no longer be able to continue with our services.
2. LWwD is dependent on client referrals from colleagues in the Memory harbour, Primary Care, Hospitals and GP surgeries. Staff shortages in the health services can often result in a lack of referrals to our service meaning that people are not aware of our services.
3. While the programme is grant aided by the HSE we also rely very much on donations and fundraising events to supplement this income. We additionally rely completely on the support of our volunteer team as there are only two paid members of staff running the programme, one full time and one part-time.

3 Outcomes / Benefits

1. Over 400 people with dementia have participated in our activity programmes since 2016, with many remaining with us for several years. Family carers state that the activities provide a weekly focus for their family member and a safe space that they might not otherwise have.
2. Feedback and testimonials from participants and family members is hugely positive and emphasises the enormous benefits to those involved. Participants and carers recognise that the programme is unique and that it provides a service that cannot be found elsewhere.
3. Our Volunteer programme has been extremely successful and is a distinctive component of our initiative. We have outstanding retention rates with our Volunteer team.
   Some family members have in fact become volunteers with our programme when their loved one passed away.