The launch of St John’s Dementia Support and St John’s Homeshare

Last evening, we welcomed supporters to Winchester Cathedral to celebrate the launch of our two new community support services. St John’s Dementia Support in partnership with Dementia UK, the specialist dementia nurse charity, and St John’s Homeshare will provide much-needed support for local people.

St John’ s Dementia Support is a community service with two dementia specialist Admiral Nurses and two Dementia Advisors providing one-to-one advice, practical solutions and support for people over 55 who are living with dementia, as well as their families and carers, both within their own home and the community. The team provides expert guidance and supports the individual, families and carers to navigate their way through the complexities of living with dementia.

Clive Cook, St John’s Chief Executive, said: “There’s no cure for dementia, but there is care and support. We are incredibly pleased to have worked with Dementia UK to create this comprehensive and much-needed dementia service to support local families affected by dementia.”

Hilda Hayo, CEO at Dementia UK, said: “We are delighted that St John’s has launched this important service, and are pleased to welcome Jeni Bell and Anne Evans to the Admiral Nurse team. The last few years have placed increasing pressure on local services that support families with dementia. This has left many families struggling and unable to cope with no one to turn to for support. Admiral Nurses understand the challenges faced by families living with dementia; they help people with dementia to stay independent for longer and they support the people caring for them so that they have the strength to cope with the bad days and the energy to enjoy the good days.”

Also launched is St John’s Homeshare, a mutually beneficial shared living arrangement where an older householder with a spare room is carefully matched with a younger sharer who is happy to help around the house in exchange for affordable accommodation. The new service covers Winchester and surrounding areas within a 10-mile radius of the City Centre.

The (younger) sharer agrees to give the householder 10 hours a week help around the house, which can include shopping, gardening, cleaning or pet care. They enjoy the benefit of safe, affordable accommodation, possibly close to their workplace or university, in return for their time, providing practical support and company to an older person.

Meanwhile, older people are enabled to live independently, safely and for longer in their own home receiving practical support around the house, the reassurance of overnight presence, and the chance to share their skills, experience and company with a younger person.

The pair provide company for each other by cooking meals together, watching TV and chatting. Skills, life experience and friendship are shared in a cross-generational arrangement where both parties can benefit on many levels.

Clive Cook said: “We’re so pleased to be able to bring Homeshare to Winchester. It’s a great service through which older and younger people support each other. It helps relieve social isolation and loneliness for older people which is known to have a serious and lasting negative impact on older people’s wellbeing and quality of life.”

Talking about the dual service launch, St John’s’ Chair, Roger Bright, said: “Our charity’s roots are in the provision of affordable almshouse accommodation, but we are expanding our horizons all the time. Now with the launch of our Dementia Support and Homeshare services, in addition to our highly successful Hand in Hand befriending, wellbeing and signposting service, we are delighted to have expanded the scope of our work to help even more older people in the wider community to live well and independently for as long as possible.”

Please read our press release to find out more.

Photo credit: Peter Langdown

Photo left to right: Jess Jackson (Homeshare UK Communications and Marketing Manager), Kathryn Bevis (former Hampshire Poet Laureate), Sarah Weekes (St John’s Head of Care Quality and Service Development), Cllr Derek Green (Mayor of Winchester), Roger Bright (St John’s Chair of Trustees), Emma Kiss (St John’s Homeshare Coordinator), Clive Cook (Chief Executive), Emma Washington (Regional Development Lead, Dementia UK), Jeni Bell (St John’s Admiral Nurse), Cllr Martin Todd (Leader, Winchester City Council) and Anne Evans (St John’s Admiral Nurse).