Many many ELC staff are carers, providing unpaid care by looking after an ill, frail or disabled family member, friend or partner. They have to manage the difficult job of balancing work with their caring responsibilities, and this sometimes means that they have very little time to take care of themselves and their needs.
In recognition of this, ELC’s Carer Positive Team has put together a Carers Hub on the council intranet to help carers find support they need at work and general sources of advice and support for their caring role. Just type ELC Carers Hub into the intranet search box..
This Dementia Friendly Week (30th May – 5th June), the ELHSCP, along with Dementia Friendly East Lothian, Open Arms Carers and Musselburgh Area Community Partnership are delighted to confirm that funding has been secured to create a Dementia Meeting Centre within Musselburgh this Autumn – with the scope to expand to further satellite sites across East Lothian.
What is a Meeting Centre?
Meeting Centres help people with mild to moderate dementia to deal with the challenges around communication, finances, relationships, changes in behaviour and so on. But ultimately it’s a place where people can come together, enjoy each other’s company and activities together.
What makes a Meeting Centre is how people with dementia and carers feel when they are there – welcome, included, supported and listened to. Everyone is considered an equal partner; staff, volunteers and attendees wear name badges only – no titles, and it is the people living with dementia who suggest and decide on the activities that are made available for all to enjoy.
The video below, from Powys, Wales, features a poem written by Yvie George, titled “The Magic”. It is a reflection of her experiences as a Meeting Centre co-ordinator and provides a wonderful insight into what a Meeting Centre is like, and what will soon be available within East Lothian.
