Alzheimers Society
Covid Response funding from WCF enabled us to look after clients across Worcestershire who were isolated due to the pandemic through:
– Providing improved access to food and medicine for those that were isolating
– Emotional support for carers and people living with dementia, especially those who were most vulnerable to
isolation and loneliness.
– Providing practical support around benefits, community networks and other services
We provided 395 Welfare Calls to 130 people in Worcestershire via our Dementia Advisor. These calls offered practical and emotional support to both people living with dementia and their carers. Over the course of the grant, we have had 13 new service users turn to Alzheimer’s Society for support.
We also provided 61 Companion Calls to 9 people, almost once a week for the duration of the grant. These calls were available for those who were most vulnerable to social isolation and loneliness, for a casual, informal and friendly chat. The calls are volunteer led, and were a much anticipated part of each service user’s week.
Whilst we achieved our desired outcomes of improved access to food and medicine and emotional and practical support for carers and people living with dementia, there were other outcomes that we noticed also came out of this work. The main one was that the switch to over the phone support helped strengthen the relationships between Dementia Advisors and people affected by dementia, as they were able to be in contact more regularly than they otherwise may have been in person. These strengthened relationships will allow us to avoid people reaching crisis points in the future, as they will know where to turn.