Age Exchange announce new dementia support service at EachStep Blackley

A new pioneering service will be launched in Community Integrated Care’s EachStep Blackley care home in Manchester, that uses arts creativity and reminiscence to transform the lives of people living with dementia.

The ‘EachStep Club’ is set to open in March 2019. The service will use arts, reminiscence and creative approaches to engage people living with dementia, and their family carers, supporting them to lead fuller, more active and sociable lives. The support service will be delivered in collaboration with Age Exchange, the UK’s leading reminiscence arts and dementia intervention charity – and will be our first project in conjunction with the charity since our partnership was announced last summer.  

Age Exchange has been awarded a grant from the ‘Building Connections Fund’, a partnership between the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, the Big Lottery and the Co-op Foundation, which aims to tackle loneliness and isolation in response to the findings of the Jo Cox Commission.

The charity has been awarded funding to operate the Club for 18 months, supporting up to 15 individuals – and their direct family carer, for one day a week. It is hoped that the service will enable people to stay independent for longer, relieve the pressure faced by family carers, and help to overcome the isolation that a diagnosis of dementia can create.

Rebecca Packwood, CEO of Age Exchange says, “This innovative service will change lives by bringing people together, enabling them to follow their passions and create lasting friendships and support networks. We believe that this unique and much needed service will be a fitting tribute to the memory of Jo Cox.”

“We’re currently carefully planning the service, with the aim of launching it from March 2019. We’re looking forward to fully announcing these plans to the local community in the months ahead.” 

Mark Adams, CEO of Community Integrated Care, comments, “We are incredibly grateful for the support of the Building Connections Fund. This service builds upon our strategic aims of ensuring that our care homes are at the heart of local communities and that we deliver the most ambitious models of support.

“We hope that this is the first of many exciting projects to be developed through our partnership with Age Exchange.”

Age Exchange are looking for a Freelance Arts Practioner to take part in this exciting project. Please find the Job Specification and application details below.

Freelance Arts Practioner Job Specification.