Juana Kwok from Touchstone Support Centre talks about being there for a neighbour who's husband is developing dementia. “I’ve seen you around the garden trimming your beautiful flowers.” “I tried not to disturb you.” “Ooh, please do.” “How are you?” “Yes, I am fine, thank you.” “How’s Joe…” “He’s not so good, he’s getting worse, he tends to be more forgetful, he wore his winter clothes on a warm day,
Amina Ditta from the Peer-Led Brokerage Service and Kirklees Advocacy Service talks about sharing knowledge and support when dementia affects a friend's family. After attending an event which delivered the Dementia Awareness session it became very clear to me how this disease carries many misconceptions. I pursued this further by becoming a Dementia Champion. Around the time of this training, my friend Kelly learnt that her mum was presenting “strange
Joe Shortland from Touchstone's Community Support Team discusses the impact of dementia on his family. In 2013 my partner’s father, John, was diagnosed with both Parkinson’s disease and dementia, and sadly he passed away last month from the illness. The last several years had been a very difficult time for all the family to see such an able bodied, intelligent, and kind hearted man, and whose memory and physical health
Continuing a series of personal reflections on the impact of dementia, Sikh Elders Service manager Chernjit Batebajwe talks about supporting a relative living with dementia. I would like to celebrate this week with sharing my experiences with dementia. I supported my relative the age of 86 living on her own every Monday of the week. She was a great cook and came from Uganda. Widowed at very early age she
My dad was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2007 following a stroke when he had a fall at home. This fall was preventable as dad had just had a knee replacement so his house should have been assessed by social care and then he might have had a handrail fitted on the stairs but information on your rights to access services is just one of the things families struggle with
First of all, let me say a big thank you to Touchstone for a job well done. I have been a restless women for the past years, and moving into your property was the best thing to me, and ever since I have been in this property, I was at peace all through out. I am happy to recommend you to any family or friends. The support workers Paul and
“Meeting up with you was the first thing I did to get out and about...” “In the past, other groups made me feel like I was a patient. You made me feel like I was worthy of doing something!” A bit of background… Patricia is a former secondary school teacher and head of year. She has a massive range of skills and experience after teaching Art & Design Technology, Art, Textiles, Religious Education and Personal, Social and Health Education. She has been successful
When we asked people who use the Community Support Team (CST) service how they felt about the support they'd received, here are some of their responses “Very happy about it. It's given me back a life. It has helped to understand myself. If it wasn’t for Touchstone I think I would have gone back, its given me back my get up and go” “Champion! I’ve got a lot from the service,
The following is a testimony from an individual using Touchstone’s Peer Led Brokerage Service. This person has a diagnosis of Schizoaffective disorder, anxiety and suspicious personality which has resulted in being sectioned and detained numerous occasions for long periods of time since 2000. The state of her accommodation was highlighted as one of her Psychosocial stresses and relapse indicators. The referral to Touchstone asked us to help source carpets for
I have been having problems with depression and anxiety for as long as I can remember, it was at a point where it was getting close to me not being able to go to work. I mentioned it to my doctor and he mentioned you can refer to the IAPT service. I had already attended some sessions of another type of therapy called 'Guided Self Help' in a different service.