Each month we pay a visit to one of our trained Buddies to find out how the My Future Care Buddy Service is helping them make a difference in the lives of the people they support.
This month we spoke to Linda Edwards from Selsey Community Forum (SCF) – a partnership of local voluntary organisations which, in cooperation with the statutory and commercial sectors, seeks to identify and meet local needs. Over the past ten years, the Forum has been involved in starting and sustaining over one hundred new activities and organisations.
We asked Linda to tell us more.
What kind of support does Selsey Community Forum provide?
We support our community in many ways. Our Dementia Action Alliance of local organisations meets monthly and promotes Selsey as a Dementia Friendly town. We also offer Dementia Friends training to all our the businesses in Selsey. We provide weekly “Together Time” activities for carers and loved ones who have dementia and these are sponsored by local businesses. We organise a monthly Film Club and lunch to stimulate happy memories, and our partners at the four churches in Selsey take turns hosting “RESBITE” Sunday Teas with activities including singing and quizzes.
How will the My Future Care Buddy Service help you to better meet people’s needs?
The training delivered by My Future Care has enabled our small group of Buddies to understand how they can tailor their support for people on an individual basis – whether they live on their own or with a partner, whether they are carer for a loved one or not and whether or not they have dementia.
For example, I visited one of our groups for carers and met a gentleman whose wife had dementia and was finding it difficult to come to terms with the disease. He and his wife had always had a very close relationship but she was not good with strangers.
The gentleman wanted to ensure everything was in place for his wife to be cared for in case anything happened to him. He already had a few things completed like their Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney but he was interested in the ReSPECT document and some other items he hadn’t thought about.
I arranged for him to meet me at The Selsey Care Shop where he collected My Future Care Handbooks for himself and his wife. I followed up through several phone calls on Wednesdays – when his wife went to their daughter’s. The husband worked on the Handbooks and saved his queries for our phone calls. He finished both of their books in about 2 months and also completed the ReSPECT document with help from one of our trained members of staff.
He is a changed man and it seems the cares and worries have been lifted from his shoulders and he can devote all his time to enjoying life and the activities he and his wife do together.
Would you recommend training as a My Future Care Buddy?
We would recommend the training and support we receive from My Future Care. The support and advice is invaluable when helping different types of people arrange their later life for themselves or their loved ones.
Everyone is different – some people may need a variety of support to complete the steps in the My Future Care Handbook. Others just need a guide to help them start and complete their plan – with a minimum amount of contact.
