New social activities at Older Persons Schemes in London and East

Our Community Investment team have recently provided £8,500 to trial activities in some of our Older Persons schemes in London and Hertford and they have been a great success so far! According to research by Age UK, nearly 1 million older people in the UK often feel lonely. We commissioned these programmes to tackle this loneliness head on by bringing people together to connect with each other, all while providing a various fun ways to socialise and get active. Find out more about how each project is going so far below!

Local Socials at Grange Hall

Local-Social are a community organisation who seek to bring people and neighbourhoods living in Ware together. They’ve been hosting a weekly coffee morning and an evening session at our scheme in Ware, Hertfordshire, where people can come together, have some refreshments, and speak with other people from their local area. Over the winter period, we funded Local-Social to enhance their coffee morning offer at Grange Hall, by also offering a number of hot meals for SNG customers. All the sessions have been a tremendous success, with 22 residents attending each session, and we ended up running a waiting list due to the high demand and keen interest in joining.  At each session, Grange Hall residents enjoyed a three course meal and participated in a variety of fun games and discussions. One resident said: ‘it’s brought me out, made a big difference and made my days longer. I have got to know people and been out to lunch and other activities.’

The Local Social coffee mornings take place every week at the following locations:

• Mondays 10.30am to 12pm at The Grange Hall, Presdales Drive, Ware
• Tuesdays 6pm to 8pm at The Crooked Billet Pub, 140 Musley Hill, Ware
• Wednesdays 10.30am to 12pm at The Crooked Billet Pub, 140 Musley Hill, Ware
• Fridays 10.30am to 12pm @ Leaside Church, High Street, Ware

Reminiscence programme at Beechwood Court

We have partnered with Hillside Performing Arts to deliver the Reminiscence programme at our dementia care scheme Beechwood court in Wembley, London (pictured above and below). Hillside Performing Arts are a charity dedicated to enriching the lives of young people, families, and elders in the community through performing arts, fitness, and enrichment activities. This programme works with residents living with varying levels of dementia to connect people through sharing experiences and recalling past events to improve or maintain cognitive function. Each session involves conversation and discussion, physical activity to get people moving, including chair exercises so that everyone can take part no matter what their physical capabilities are. Reminiscence processes aim to stimulate mental activity, evoke positive emotions and improve wellbeing.

The programme came about as residents, care workers and the scheme manager at Beechwood Court advised that there was a call for more social activity in the scheme. It can be more challenging to do this in dementia schemes, so we felt it was important to structure the session around supporting mental stimulation and overall wellbeing. So far the sessions have gone really well, with one resident in particular coming every week and remembering and recalling the themes of each session from week to week. This residents’ consistent enthusiasm and positivity has radiated throughout the sessions, which has brought a great upbeat energy for all participants. It clear for all to see so far that the sessions are fostering a sense of community and meaningful conversations, providing a valuable space for Beechwood Court residents to connect and learn.

Our Scheme Manager at Beechwood Court said: “Customers have been engaged and connected, their participation and enthusiasm has made the workshop and enjoyable experience for all. The memories Cherelle evokes bring joy and connection and a willingness to share personal experiences. The ability to recall and share has been pretty impressive and heartwarming.”

Dance West workshops at Rydal Court

At our Rydal Court scheme in Wembley, London, we have partnered with charity Dance West to deliver a series of physical movement and wellbeing workshops. Dance West is an award winning charity that has pioneered high-quality dance programmes since 2014 offering a creative response to issues including poor health, socio-economic disadvantage and unequal access to physical activity. The sessions focus on bringing people together to on getting active and increasing physical and mental wellbeing through dance.

These workshops also came about after residents asked for more social activity and community interaction. Residents specifically requested dance activities as a way they would like to socialise and get active. The sessions have been full of energy and positivity so far, with people being made at ease as there have been both standing and seated movement options. Residents have worked on partner movement, learning how to coordinate themselves in time with someone else, which has boosted their confidence massively. Attendees have said how much they have enjoyed dancing and singing along at the sessions and would like to keep them going.

What next?

We’re really pleased to see the difference these projects have made for customers who could otherwise feel socially isolated and disconnected from their local community and neighbours. Once all of these trials are complete,  we will be reflecting on the overall outcomes and impact made. If they have been successful overall and residents would like them to continue, we hope to continue to support the programmes through more funding and positive partnerships with local organisations.

Photo from the Reminiscence programme at Beechwood Court