Community Makers report published
We are very pleased to announce that “Community makers: report on developing an online toolkit for supporting people with dementia to connect during the pandemic and beyond” has been published in “Working with Older People“ Shirley Evans says “We learned so much from working on the Community Makers project and it is really pleasing to […]
Four principles to enable social connection
We’ve been spending some time recently reflecting on range of initiatives that we’ve heard about through Community Makers. There seem to be four common factors which combine to make a successful service, regardless of its type, size or location. Introducing the four Community Makers principles: Relationships, Purpose, Technology, Community
Heritage Pathfinders: What does the Future of Heritage hold?
Guest blog by Tim Senior, supersum There has been a lot in the news recently about continued delays to social care reform in the UK. Helping people live well with dementia in their communities is an important priority and will need all of us – not just policy makers – to rethink how we can make […]
The role of culture and belonging in online community support
In April, Community Makers heard how an established dementia support group, based in the Chinese community in Liverpool, adapted to the pandemic. Although Chinese Wellbeing are primarily focussed on the Chinese community, they also work with other ethnic and immigrant groups, and it was fascinating and revealing to understand the importance of cultural sensitivity and […]
The view from Bologna
We were very lucky to have a presentation from Clelia D’Anastasio at the March Community Makers Forum, where we got a window into how community support has adapted to COVID19 restrictions in Bologna. Clelia is a retired geriatrician, who has spent her whole career looking after the needs of the older population, including spending a […]
Alive and Meetupcall – The Power of Voice
This month the Community Makers forum heard from a fascinating project led by Alive, and in partnership with teleconferencing company Meetupcall. Emma from Alive was given funding by the Lottery’s catalyst programme fund to spend a few dedicated weeks talking to people affected by dementia about their needs and aspirations for connecting digitally to community […]
Nurture and Nature!
In our first Community Makers Forum of 2021, Vivienne Depledge shared the experience of Dementia Adventures as they have adapted to the varying circumstances through the COVID pandemic. Dementia Adventure is a service that was very much rooted in the physical experiences of taking people affected by dementia into the outside world, whether on day […]
Cultivating a culture of creativity
by Natasha Morgan, Senior Innovator, Alzheimer’s Society At this month’s members zoom event, our Community Makers had a presentation from Tim Senior from supersum, describing two new innovative projects which facilitate serendipitous connections through creative activities. Tim explained how enabling connection in a time of change and uncertainty is a ‘wicked problem’ – one that […]
Keeping creative during COVID
The Community Makers network are now meeting online monthly to hear experiences from fellow Community Makers, and discuss the evolving challenges of running dementia support groups through the COVID pandemic. This month, the community had a presentation from Rebecca Packwood from Age Exchange describing how they had successfully moved their in-person creative art groups to […]
Hardware review for video communications
We have recently created a guide to the various device options for supporting people affected by dementia through video calling. The review explores the variety of issues to consider in choosing a device for people with dementia, from ease of use and flexibility, to ergonomics and cost. The review also in describes three different types […]
Community Makers: a toolkit for getting your groups online
By the Association for Dementia Studies First up was Matt Harrison, Senior Designer at UK Dementia Research Institute Care Research and Technology Centre, Imperial College. To provide some background to their online work, Matt told us about a project they’re working on which is using a range of sensors in the house to look at how […]
#2 Getting virtual — defining the needs of an online community centre.
View, comment on, and share this piece on Medium.com In our first post we looked at the need to help people affected by dementia reconnect online to help mitigate the impact of isolation during COVID-19 lockdown. Technology is both an enabler and a barrier to inclusion. So we must draw on its strengths and opportunities and consider […]
Tags: News
#1 Understanding Isolation.
View, comment on, and share this piece on Medium.com Matt Harrison, Alice Blencowe, Lauren Dowling, Natasha Howard, Alinda Fernandes, Dr Shirley Evans Under the current circumstances of COVID-19 related lockdown, we are seeing how people living with dementia are particularly vulnerable to the challenges of social distancing and isolation. They are commonly frail with complex […]
Tags: News