Memory cafes to launch in Barnstaple to support customers
Starting on Tuesday 5th November, North Devon Homes will be providing a monthly safe and friendly space for our customers who are experiencing memory loss.
Our Memory Café will take place at Medard House, Barnstaple on the first Tuesday of each month from 10.30am until 12pm. It is free to attend with tea, coffee and cake for all participants. As a Dementia Specialist and Alzheimer’s Ambassador, with a Masters in Dementia studies, Harriet, our Independent Living Services Team Leader, has planned the sessions. They will be led by her and Kate, our Independent Living Support Officer, who also has dementia training. No formal diagnosis is needed to attend, as these sessions are open to anyone experiencing memory loss, as well as their carers, family and friends.
Memory cafés provide a comforting environment for social support and engagement. Our café will also include activities that help to stimulate cognitive function and enhance wellbeing for people with memory loss. These include games, craft, woodwork, gardening, flower arranging and reminiscing. Activities will be tailored to each individual and their stage of memory loss. If an individual doesn’t want to take part in the activity they don’t have to. They can just enjoy being at the café.
We want this venture to offer a safe and non-judgemental space where participants and their friends and family can come to relax without the pressures or stigmas that can sometimes be associated with dementia. We hope that participants can engage with others who understand the challenges of memory loss whilst sharing experiences and enjoying the activities.
The space will also offer respite and social connections for caregivers. Caring for someone with memory loss can be isolating and overwhelming. The café will give family and friends of participants the opportunity to connect with people who are in a similar situation, where they can share advice, talk to our staff and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee and cake and let us look after them.
Memory cafés were created in 1997 by Dr. Bère Miesen, a Dutch psychologist, who recognized the need for settings where people with dementia and their families could connect, relax, and feel understood. The concept has since spread globally as a vital resource for dementia care and community inclusion.
We look forward to welcoming customers to our first café on Tuesday 5th November at 10.30am at Medard House, Barnstaple.
For more information, please contact our Independent Living Support Team on 01271 312500.
