Friends of Aspen Court

With this project, we will purchase a specialist sensory case for the elderly as a tool to exercise sensory perception. The case will include a variety of equipment for residents with dementia and those who might need some sensory stimulation.

The sensory case contains tools which will give the residents the opportunity to exercise visual, olfactory and auditory perception. Musical gloves will give the residents the opportunity to play music with ease and the fruits card game will allow them to recognise and match fragrances with fruits.

Additionally, cushions and armchair covers of various textures will constitute a tool to explore tactile perception.

The kit will be a chance to build a bridge between trained volunteers and the residents, form new meaningful relationships developed through leisure whilst simultaneously improving their physical health. Our volunteers will contribute to improving the lives of residents by exercising day-to-day tasks which involve sensory stimulation. Thanks to this project, residents will gain confidence in recognising textures, sounds and scents and, consequently, improve their concentration and memory.

The Multisensory Equipment project is one more step forward in making residents’ lives more enjoyable and meaningful.

Lisa learned about Friends of Aspen Court at a job centre – the care home was a close to her home and her son’s nursery providing a perfect opportunity for her to start volunteering.

Friends of Aspen Court have carried out numerous projects to engage the residents in social activities –some of them include 1-on-1 conversations, music sessions and flower arrangement. Additionally, during a 21^st Century Tea Dance by Entelechy Arts the residents, volunteers and carers had an opportunity to get together and dance, sing and perform, which Lisa has particularly enjoyed.

Lisa has bonded with many of the residents, “I feel attached to them”, Lisa said, “just the other week we organised a BBQ to which I brought my little boy along. There was a lady who hardly ever smiled.  It was so heart-warming to see her smiling and singing to my son when she saw him – I have never seen her like that before”, Lisa explained. “Volunteering is a big eye opener”, Lisa explained the challenging nature of looking after residents, particularly those with dementia. “In the beginning I found it difficult to talk to some residents“, she confessed. “If you approach them with patience and friendliness, they do engage in the conversation, and that’s the most gratifying feeling”, she explained.

Lisa believes that volunteers need to be talkative as well as able to listen carefully to demonstrate to the resident that their voice is valued and truly matters.

Seeing residents smile and develop new skills is what motivates Lisa to continue volunteering and be there for the residents at Friends of Aspen Court. “More people should realise how beautiful an experience volunteering is”, Lisa would recommend to anyone to start volunteering as “it is such a small gesture from the volunteers but means the world to the residents”. “If you can spare an hour or two per week. It’s an amazing thing to do.”

Agenda

Movement and vocal warm up

Show dance duet between violet and Shakti

Mary: “It’s nice to be in a group, to be honoured. Often here we are not in a group. Often we are on our own. Only at meal time are you together and you don’t talk, because it’s busy busy.

Kens wife: “Music brings everyone together. Music is the food of love.”

Mary: I love classical music and classic FM

Kens wife: “Achievement is getting involved, otherwise they are left. Making the choice to get up and dance – he is remembering things when he does, Takes him back in time.”

Mary: “They come away in themselves and you do see a difference.”

Max: “I showed him a picture of where he worked on the tablet and it was amazing how much emotion and memory this brought up for him. Showed him pictures of how London looks now and canary wharf as he hasn’t seen them.”

Kens wife: “gets their brain going. Ball games, bit of exercise – you get the ball – exciting – then you have to think of a memory each time you receive the ball.”

Mary: “and what I have forgotten I can make up!”

Talking about another resident: She loves the vocal work, the humour – she is a comedian. She loves the song ‘we will meet again’

Kens wife:” Most important thing of all is TIME. Staff can’t give time because they are busy. I became like that – used to be the manager of a day centre on the isle of dogs in the 70’s.I became ‘miss 2 minutes’. Time is the hardest thing to give. Costs nothing and it’s the hardest thing to give.”

Vera: “Like the songs. I do sing –makes me happy. I go into my room – and that’s all I see and I don’t go anywhere. If I wasn’t in here- there wouldn’t be nothing for me.”

Vera was brought up round the corner from the nursing home. She remembers her dads coal van, He used to give them rides in it which was the most exciting thing they did all week. Their mother worked hard as a cleaner, life was hard, and she suffered from epilepsy and in those days there wasn’t much help so we all cared for her and because she was so busy she didn’t have much time for us. She mentioned different places in the area she used to go to.

Vera spoke about how challenging it was to have a colostomy bag now. How much this embarrassed her when she went out, so she tends not to go out and it’s unpredictable. She hates it when it begins to smell and has had to clean it herself. She got it from a botched operation. “How its stops me from going out in case it needs changing”

Kens wife spoke of being husband and wife. As the wife of a resident how they can still find ways of being man and wife – go to old haunts, Chrisp street market – eat fish n chips at their old café – and bring the grand kids to that café.

Kens wife used to be a carer, then assistant manager at a day centre – she named and painted a picture of the area around it – on the Isle of dogs in the 70’s. They used to go on lots of trips to Southend, on the river….every week.

Debra said that we can’t go to south end because they have got rid of all the disabled toilets.

Debra, Sharon, Kens wife and Mary all spoke about how in the 70’s and 80’s it was much easier to take people out on trips, and there were more resources to do this , so they went out on lots of trips. How now red tape turns homes and day centres into prisons. “Everything is so rule bound. We don’t go on trips – it’s taking away peoples human rights, how they used to go on trips to the sea side and on boats – stuff that would be considered a risk now.”

Mary used to work as a teacher in a special needs school and she used to take children with profound disabilities out on the boats on the Thames and now you can’t do that anymore.

Mary spoke about how the hospital threw her in to the home because they didn’t know where to put her. She was in hospital due to her dermatitis. She can still walk fine. But because all her family are in New Zealand they flung her in here. “They don’t know where to put me and I don’t know”

Beth spoke about doing a communal session at Poplar union, free tickets for residents to see a show there, ways to join the free sessions. Debra and Sharon will pop over and Beth will take them round. Beth is keen for them to lead with the stories and heritage of the area.

Concerns

Debra: The gaps in- between sessions, makes it pointless as you can’t build things up and residents change. If there are more sessions with no gaps it’s remembered more. A 3 week gap is a long time.

Shakti: We don’t have any time for one to one and this is a big concern of ours that we are missing these residents. The gaps make it very hard.

Mary:” We are not seeing you for three weeks. TERRIBLE!

Mary said she wished she could get a delivery form Lidl for her cotton clothes or go there as she has dermatitis.

Struck by how all three evaluation began to uncover parts of London with people’s stories and their real sense of the landscape – another map of London imbued with other meanings.  Unmasking real  and forgotten London

Through these evaluations it’s about finding our story – who we are – the interconnectedness – tapestry of the human story.