Our Chairman, Chris Mitchell, himself a holder of a university degree in Dementia Studies, talks here about the wonderful addition of the charity, Dementia Forward, to our on-site care teams.
Welcome to our care partners, Queen’s Award-winning Dementia Forward, a charity we have worked closely with for four years at our existing care homes. We are delighted and honoured that they have chosen to base their East and North Yorkshire HQ on the site of our care village. Charities need have no allegiance to anybody; they are free to make decisions as to who they work with, based on their opinions of the quality and gravitas of their respective working partners. As such, for this fine Charity to want to work so closely with us, having seen extensively our commitment to helping people live well with dementia, is a tribute to the award-winning work we have achieved together.
It is a sad fact of life that too many of us who live to a ripe old age, eventually progress to living with dementia. Once a taboo subject, charities like Dementia Forward have been successful in bringing the plight of those living with this progressive illness to the fore. Their main focus is on those individuals, their families and their carers; ensuring that they have the best possible support from the very onset of diagnosis of the disease and thereafter, cradling them on their journey from diagnosis into potentially full-time care in a care home.
Whilst undoubtedly very tough on the individuals and their loved ones, Dementia Forward and literally an army of others fighting the same fight, make every day worth living, continued independence of the illness worth fighting for and put smiles on the faces of those living with adversity, proving time and time again that the strength of fundamental human kindness triumphs over all, as recent times have shown us all too often.
So, whilst many of those choosing to live with us in this wonderful environment will thankfully be free of this debilitating illness, some sadly will not be and so how comforting and heart-warming it is to have this wonderful charity based here, holding clinics, advising on diagnoses, having confidential one to one discussions with families worried about their loved ones, holding open house cafes for like-minded families and so much more. They will be just a step away in Ballerina House as you enter the community. As I said at the beginning, what an honour. We are so proud.
Jill Quinn MBE - CEO of Dementia Forward
Read what Dementia Forward say about the synergy between them and Lavender Fields Care Village
Dementia Forward is grateful to Lavender Fields Care Village for giving us the opportunity to provide our services from Ballerina House - the beautiful purpose-built building that stands at the entrance to the care village.
Dementia Forward is an award-winning charity, which was established in 2012 to provide specialist support for people living with dementia in local communities. We have grown our services across North Yorkshire over the last decade, and have developed a reputation for being a vital source of information, advice and support. Ballerina House sits on the border of North Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire, and we couldn’t ask for a better space from which to run our wellbeing services.
Hub Clubs are the Dementia Forward take on traditional day care, and we are fortunate to have a fantastic activities room and wonderful garden at Ballerina House to welcome people to. The aim is to provide a full day of meaningful activity for people with dementia, and important respite time for family carers. Throughout the day we offer a range of activities, such as crafts, games, music and table tennis, to ensure the day is varied and stimulating. We work in synergy with Lavender Fields Care Village, as we have the same ethos of encouraging and embracing independence where possible and providing support when it is needed.
Dementia Forward is here for anyone at Lavender Fields who needs our services, but we also want to ensure that every resident feels welcome at Ballerina House. We hold a weekly Friday community coffee morning, which is open to everyone and is a great opportunity to meet the teams, enjoy some activities and find out more about our work - over a cup of tea and a slice of cake. We also hold regular community events, such as our hugely successful summer and Christmas fayres, so hopefully Ballerina House and Dementia Forward feel central to the Lavender Fields family.
