Friends of Avery Place

In her spare time, Catherine enjoys playing the piano, walking and going out in the countryside, but also loves to help others whenever she has the chance. After taking early retirement from her job in the pharmaceutical industry she realised that she wanted “to serve and to do things for other people”, she stated.

In the last six years of her retirement, Catherine has been mainly working with children in the education sector. Due to the immense rewarding feeling she received from this, she was inspired to give her time to those who are on the other end of the age spectrum.

Catherine thoroughly enjoys her time spent at the care home. Although working in a care home may have some challenges at times, she knows exactly how to overcome them, “there is one lady who lives with severe dementia and she does not always remember me, but by talking to her I can get her engaged”, she said. “Eventually you find something that means something to them, I found that she enjoyed music and she used to play the piano so we ended up singing a song and she remembered the words of the songs even better than I did”. Catherine’s greatest motivation to volunteer is the rewarding feeling she gets as a result of every visit she makes to the care home, “you get that sort of rewarding moment a lot at the care home”.

The Avery Place family value the help that the volunteers give, and in attempts to make everyone feel more connected to the care home, they set up meetings with all the staff and volunteers. The aim of one meeting was to encourage more befriending throughout the home, starting off by making a list of the residents who do not have regular visitors to make sure that they are not on their own for too long. It is important for the care home that Catherine and the rest of the volunteering team are involved in all the plans that are set out for the residents, making everyone feel like a vital part of the team.

Through her time spent at Avery Place, she has improved her communication skills by listening actively to the residents and knowing when and how to start a conversation with them. Catherine believes that her patience, openness and her willingness to listen has allowed her to be a good and efficient volunteer at the care home, and would also help anyone else to be the best volunteer that they can be. “Maybe any skills on the musical side which you could share”, by sharing these skills, the residents can feel that they are learning something new.

What has touched Catherine the most through this experience is, “the feeling that you are able to give something of yourself or share part of yourself for the benefit of others”. Through this successful experience, she would recommend volunteering work to anyone, “it is worth it because it gives you such a good feeling that you have actually done something to help someone”.

Joshua’s journey at Avery Place began as a volunteer. His family has always been involved with mental health and charity sectors which has slowly been sparking Joshua’s interest in volunteering. Initially, Joshua thought he might not be suitable for the role – the stigma of a “depressing care home” had put him off from taking an initiative for a while. “In the beginning I wasn’t convinced much but eventually helping people has become something I really wanted to do”, he explained.

Avery Place Care Home is one of the places where Friends of Care Homes have formed a group of volunteers supporting residents as well as carers. Joshua was glad to learn that Avery Place happened to be near his family home, “it really isn’t far away, and my parents have known about the care home and have been encouraging me to give it a try”, Joshua said. Joshua was welcomed to a delightful care home with a team of helpful staff, “one of the members helped me with the job application when I decided to shift from volunteering to working full-time”, he explained. Joshua has found the volunteer – staff transition quite smooth thanks to the training provided, “I got a closer look at the equipment and completed and on-line course which was tremendously informative”, he explained.

During his volunteering experience, Joshua took part in organised activities such as Tai Chi, music sessions and meetings with mums and toddlers. However, his involvement has become more carer-focused over time.  The more time Joshua has spent working with the residents, the more attached to them he has become, “there is one resident I particularly get along with”, he reflected. “He’s very open about his past and shares his memories with me whenever he remembers them”, Joshua explained. It is the little moments he shares with the residents that make a change every day, “I love learning about the residents’ little quirks and interests and make them the subject of the conversation”, he said.

Being a carer has also opened a window of possibilities to provide more gratifying, focused care “there was a lot I could do as a volunteer, but being a member of staff means I can physically care for the residents which I could not do before”, he reflected. “I couldn’t help a resident into a chair because I was not a qualified carer a while ago, which was an utterly heart-breaking situation to be in”, Joshua confessed.

“There wasn’t anything I did not feel prepared for when first coming to the care home”, Joshua explained. His family members have volunteered in care homes in the past, therefore he was aware of potential challenges that working with the residents might entail. “Residents with dementia tend to forget you all the time but it doesn’t matter as long as you can have a chat with them and keep them company”, he explained.

Volunteering and being a full-time carer have made a huge impact on Joshua’s personality. The sense of accomplishment stemming from a rewarding experience has boosted his confidence and helped him develop a more open approach to people “I used to be a quite closed person but this experience makes me feel like I got this”, he explained. “I think this is definitely something one should try, whether it be volunteering or being a carer. I would recommend making that decision to anyone.”