Blackburn Rovers Football Club and EachStep Blackburn Team Up

Community Integrated Care are working closely with Blackburn Rovers Football Club to ensure living with dementia isn’t a barrier to following the famous club, by arranging season tickets for people living at our EachStep Blackburn specialist dementia care home.

EachStep has bought four season tickets so that two people we support at the care home, and their carers, can cheer on Rovers at home this season.

Susan Adlum, who lives at EachStep, was invited by the club, along with Service Manager, Phil Benson, to select the home’s seats at the stadium. They were also treated to an exclusive tour of Ewood Park where they visited the Directors Box, the changing rooms and the prestigious silverware area, where they enjoyed seeing the famous Premier League trophy.

This unique partnership between a professional football team and a specialist dementia care home means the people we support at EachStep Blackburn will be able to watch their favourite team week in, week out, as Owen Coyle’s side seek a return to the top flight.

EachStep Blackburn is a £5m state-of-the-art dementia care home that provides specialist residential, nursing and respite care to up to 64 people. We adopt an innovative model of care that focusses on supporting people to stay active and keep in touch with their passions and interests.

The home has formed an innovative partnership with Blackburn Rovers Community Trust. This has seen us work together to create a special sports themed room in the home, with the Trust donating historic images and memorabilia to support reminiscence. They have also delivered football related activity sessions at the home.

Phil Benson, Service Manager at EachStep Blackburn, says: “Football is one of the most popular topics of conversation at EachStep Blackburn, and our work with Rovers has helped the people we support to stay connected with the club that they love. By taking the unique step of purchasing season tickets for the people we support, with the help of the club, we can ensure that they don’t just enjoy the Rovers memories of their past but can create new ones too.”

Susan Adlum, who lives at at EachStep Blackburn, says: “It was an honour to visit Ewood Park and pick our season tickets. The club arranged a real VIP experience for us, and it was incredible to go behind the scenes in the famous stadium. I can’t wait now to come back and cheer on the team, with other people supported at EachStep Blackburn!”

Adrian Ward, Media, Events and Motivate! Coordinator at Blackburn Rovers, says: “I’ve never known a residential care home that takes the time and care to purchase season tickets for people it supports, and then devote the volunteers to bring them to matches. I hope that their efforts really pay off and that they have a great time at Ewood Park this season, supporting the team that they love.”