Celebrating One Month of Alzheimer Café @ Parklands!

Alzheimer Café @ Parklands has been up and running for just over a month so we caught up with executive manager Donna White to see how things have been going!

 
How would you describe the first month of Alzheimer Café @ Parklands?
 
It’s been fantastic to welcome lots of new visitors to the Community Café and to our Wellbeing Club. We’ve met some amazing people in genuine need of support and can already see the difference Alzheimer Café @ Parklands is making. People on the Island now have a safe space to drop in, be themselves and leave with a little less weight on their shoulders.
 
There has been a lot of laughter and fun, and one lady told me today, “I love it here; it’s the best day of my week and I can’t wait to come back”. What wonderful feedback and a real testament to the hard work from all the team here and in the background of this project!
 
Have there been any surprises over the past 4 weeks?
 
Alzheimer Café @ Parklands is an evolving service – every day brings a new dimension to what we are trying to achieve. The most important aspect is to offer the appropriate advice and support to help shape care plans that enable the best possible outcomes for people with a dementia and their families. Working with our partners, we will continue to think creatively to support all who reach out to us.

What have been some challenges you’ve faced?
 
We are currently in the thick of another renovation project as we move forward with the new lift installation. That has proven eventful at times as we navigate the noise and the occasional outage of power. We can’t thank our guests enough for their patience and understanding – it will make such a difference and we are ever nearer to completion, so we’ll be business as usual very soon! Things will always come up here and there, but our team is fantastic, and we’re always ready to face challenges head on!

What has exceeded your expectations?
 
The generosity of people who visit and leave having offered their support – whether this has been a donation for new equipment, an offer to come and volunteer or simply to keep coming back to the Community Café to support us.
 
It’s so encouraging to see how much this service means to so many people living on the Island. We will always need people to come to the Community Café to sustain it and help it to grow! Remember, it’s a dementia friendly space but the café and all of our events and activities are open to anyone and everyone!
 
And I have to say, the café food always exceeds my expectations, it really is a treat! 

What does the next month have in store?
 
Every week we see some progression with our vision for Alzheimer Café @ Parklands. We’ve been busy working with lots of other organisations offer everything people need under one roof. Regular social events are now running from the Community Café as well as external services holding drop-ins for support. We have a very busy July planned as we push to get all of upstairs completed to open our hair salon and gym!
 
Are you still looking for volunteers to help @ Parklands?
 
Yes, definitely! There is always so much to do, and we are completely reliant on our volunteers to help sustain this service. We need one last push on decorating upstairs and as our Wellbeing Club grows, we will need help more than ever, so I encourage anyone who has any spare time and wants to make a real difference to people living with a dementia to come and have a look around – it’s such a friendly and positive place to be!