TEESSIDE DEMENTIA LINK SERVICES
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Mission Statement
To help people with Dementia and their loved ones live as good a life as possible with this condition we do this by providing the following - Dementia cafes 1, Thornaby library 2, Yarm Methodist church 3, Yarm wellness afternoon tea 4, Stockton Parish Church 5, Thornaby Methodist soup & roll 6, Classical Music café Middlesbrough 7, Billingham Craft Groups 8, Stockton 9, Thornaby Carers support groups 10, Stockton Dementia advisory services 11, Yarm wellness 12, Thornaby Methodist 13, Stockton Parish Church Breakfast club 14, Stockton café 81 Lunch clubs 15, Billingham 16, Middlesborough Supper club 17, Various locations Swimming club 18, Ingleby Barwick Walking group 19, Ropner park 20, Hardwick Hall 21, Telephone befriending Baby Yoga 22, Yarm wellness Soup & Sunset 23, Saltburn The Lonely Funeral 24, Various Home visits 25, Emotional support 26, Family conferences 27, Benefits advice 28, Form filling, Attendance, PIP 29, Attend Benefits Reviews 30, Future planning Wills, Trusts 31, Welfare packs 32, Advice & info sessions Spiritual Support 33, Attending Church Services Various churches 34, Cinema Club New Services starting in the next few months Billingham Craft Group Billingham Dementia Advisory Service Yarm Afternoon tea dance Egglescliffe Lunch Club
About This Cause
Putting People with Dementia and Their Carers First Our founder Gail Walker had previously worked and volunteered for another charity providing support to people with Dementia and their carers. In 2014 that charity lost its funding and services ceased to be offered, this led to a large and significant number of former clients with no support. It became almost impossible for our founder to go out in the local towns, Stockton on Tees, Middlesbrough, Redcar, Thornaby, even once in Newcastle, and Gateshead, without meeting former clients who were all in a very distressed state, many bursting into tears and begging for help, this was heartbreaking and stressful. It was after one very distressing encounter at Christmas 2014 were Gail had to give her phone number out so she could talk to the former client in more detail. It was a very difficult time for many people. Later that week June (a volunteer from a charity that had worked with Gail for many years) and Gail met for coffee and started to chat about how to help all the former clients. Unfortunately, that first carer gave Gail's number to other former clients. The cat was out of the bag, Gail started to get more and more calls, begging for help. By the Christmas of 2015 it was clear Gail had to begin some sort of service to support those in need. Gail had some savings and used this to start up the first few services beginning in February 2016, home visits and a small support group were started. The first vision was to support the former clients only, then once they were back on an even keel, Gail could withdraw, at this time Gail had suffered a bereavement and was undergoing treatment for Cancer due to the death of her Mother Gail also became homeless. The plan did not work, because more and more people came forward for help, so in April Gail and June opened the Sweet Charity Cafe again, after it had been closed for almost 2 years. April 4th, 2016, was the opening day for the cafe (a bank holiday), about 8 – 10 people were expected, almost 70 turned up during the 2 ½ hours the cafe was open, no one got any practical help, most were in tears. Carers had not seen each other for 2 yrs they had lots to catch up on, some clients had passed, most people's condition had worsened, a day that will be remembered for a very long time. So, there they were, Gail and June both ill, Gail unsure of the outcome of the Cancer treatment, loads of people in need. All they had was Gail's savings, and a car that was more poorly than both June and Gail. After a few meetings of the Sweet Charity Cafe and more home visits and many many phone calls, they needed to do something more formal and continue the work but were unsure how best to proceed. The numbers at the cafe were not going down, after a very busy cafe in October 2016 where they ran out of seating, they realised that they could wait no more they had to formalise the “group – organisation – charity?” whatever it was going to be. The service we wanted to provide was a one-to-one service that met the needs of the clients, it could be flexible, give support as and when needed, but with a “person centered approach” (yes that phase makes us laugh and cringe in equal measure too, lots of services use it but it not always put into practice). The autumn was spent looking at ways the group and service may continue, other organisations appeared to- 1) Only offer support as part of group meetings 2) One single home visit or no home visits at all 3) Clients were given information on benefits and what to do, but clients most often need support in completing them 4) Many were getting benefits refused because they do not meet the criteria, when in fact, they have not understood the questions and filled in the forms incorrectly By Christmas 2016 people had held fundraising events and we had a donation of £1,000, the founders began to think maybe they should set up their own charity. A few informal meetings were held, and people were very positive about moving forward, but no one wanted to be a trustee. It felt too taxing, so early 2017 the founders were feeling a bit down. Further investigation in spring 2017 discovered that registering as a charity was not as alarming as first thought, the charity commission were actually a friendly bunch and had loads of on – line help. The paperwork was a nightmare, we did not have the computer programme the Charity commission use, but we managed after a hiccup or two we got our governing document together and applied. Finally in the late summer of 2017 we got our charity number, (1175890) we had gone from a group with charitable aims to a proper Charity. We could now apply for funds, step up the fundraising and expand and deliver new services. We are now 7 years old and have grown, the last 2 years as it has been for everyone, was so so difficult but we made it through. Many organisations closed to clients and some only offered limited telephone support, but we DID NOT close. During the 18 months of lockdown, we provided - • Crafting packs delivered to client’s homes – around 2,049 packs all hand delivered • Welfare / mental health packs – around 1,955 all hand delivered • Took 295 referrals from Stockton Councils covid team during the first 6 months of the pandemic • Telephone befriending 70 new clients, many calls made after 10 pm when people feel most lonely – around 2,800 hours • One to one “Garden” visits – 1,044 in all weathers summer was good but the winter has been so difficult but we did it • Sent for and completed 36 attendance allowance forms (100% success rate) 3 PIP applications and 2 PIP reviews • 1,845 selection boxes for our clients and all the residents in 20 Nursing homes across Stockton • Friday Fish & Chips for the most vulnerable around 480 delivered • Over 200 shopping and prescription trips • 1,589 Easter Eggs to all our clients and all the residents in 18 Nursing homes • Liaising with other agencies to get emergency care • Organising respite and permanent care for clients – 18 • Advocacy for several clients – around 30 • One to one social activities – 120 events • 450 post cards with up lifting messages on them to clients and care homes • 270 thinking of you cards sent to clients • 80 general chat letters sent to nursing homes in lockdown • New museums newsletter with sensory activities packs over 1,000 delivered, including to 10 nursing homes, this project is part of a broader engagement program with Tees Valley Museums • We set up new services during lockdown including a weekly walks and Sunset and Soup sessions, socially distanced • We continued as ever to support and promote local businesses and services including the High st in Stockton, Stockton Markets, The Arc and many cafes and restaurants. We are proud to shop exclusively on Teesside and as of March this year we buy our Public Liability insurance locally too.