This Dementia Action Week, 21st-27th May, the Alzheimer’s Society’s is urging people across Bath to unite and take action to help people in the city living with dementia.
The charity is looking to recruit more volunteers to pair up with people affected by dementia who share a common interest, love or hobby through its Side by Side service.
The UK’s leading dementia charity aims to reconnect people living with dementia with their communities and favourite pastimes.
Side by Side was designed in response to Alzheimer’s Society research that shows people with dementia are more at risk of loneliness than the general population – with a third of people reporting to have lost friends since their diagnosis.
Two thirds of people with dementia remain in their communities, but many feel trapped in their own homes – with almost one in 10 only leaving the house once a month.
Side by Side uses a new approach to volunteering by matching people through their shared interests. It has proved so popular with people living with dementia that the charity is urgently calling on more volunteers to be paired up.
63-year-old Sally is a volunteer with the charity’s Side by Side service in Bath.
She said: “I had heard about volunteering with Alzheimer’s Society partly through looking at their website and partly through a chat with another volunteer while supporting the charity’s runners at the Bath Half Marathon.
“The best bit about it is that the lady I’m matched with and I are extremely well suited. We have discovered so many things that link us – shared interests in many things, not just gardening, which was the main reason for matching us.
“We have become genuine friends. We have agreed that if there is anything the other person doesn’t like, then we will say, but there never has been. It is lovely to have a cross-generational friendship. The over-riding feeling is that we are ‘comfortable’ with each other – like friends should be.
“We generally have a chat, mostly about our families and, as we share an interest in gardening, often visit a local garden centre, have a coffee and chat some more. We are both very good at chatting!
“I would say to anyone who is thinking of getting involved to give it a try. I know great care is taken with matching people and I have always felt well supported.
“I would also say not to be afraid of being with someone who has dementia. I have been matched twice, and each time the person’s character and personality is the dominant feature, not their dementia.
“Also to take each visit as it comes; sometimes just having a chat is enough, sometimes the person may not want to ‘do anything’, just to have some company and someone to listen.”
From joining a local club, going to the football, or just going for a stroll in the park, this innovative service pairs people with dementia and volunteers with shared interests.
The top activities people with dementia want to do with a volunteer include:
- Walks to beaches and nature spots;
- Visiting places of interest such as museums and art galleries;
- Trips to garden centres;
- Spending time chatting with someone over a cup of tea.
Mary-Jane King, Alzheimer’s Society Side by Side Coordinator in Bath said: “Loneliness is a real problem for people with dementia, yet we know that one of the most important things for those affected is to remain part of their community and continue to do the things they love – from going shopping to enjoying a local football match.
“This year’s Dementia Action Week theme is community change and we want to see a big impact across Bath. People with dementia and carers have shared actions with us that will make a difference, from ‘invite me out. Friends still mean the world to me’ to ‘take time to listen.
“I can still teach you a thing or two.’ That’s why we’re asking people to unite against dementia and help people affected to feel included in their community and able to live the life they want by becoming volunteers.”
Current Side by Side volunteers have reported that they have gained and shared skills, developed new friendships and even enhanced their CV as a result of participating in the service.
Side by Side is designed to be flexible so that anyone can sign up – a telephone service is also available so people with limited time can also volunteer.
Anyone interested in becoming a Side by Side volunteer or would like to access the service should visit alzheimers.org.uk/sidebysidevolunteer or call 01225 396678.