Inclusion is Key

‘The workshops can have a transformative effect on our residents’: these are the words spoken by Kimberley Atkin, the Head of Activities/Lifestyle Lead at Tennyson Grange Careuk and previous to this, Sherwood Grange Careuk. Her aim is to find places to visit which offer relaxed, informal, dementia and access friendly opportunities so that their residents of all needs are able to take part.

Kimberley has been bringing residents from these care homes to our centre on a regular basis for the last five years to take part in activities such as; the Victorian Soap Workshop and Art in Nature Workshops.

It is always a pleasure to welcome Kimberley, her Activity Coordinator colleagues, Louise Slater and Frazer McCann and all the fabulous residents they bring to us. We asked Kimberley why she chooses The Holly Lodge Centre and she told us that we, ‘Provide a small-scale, relaxed setting supported by a wonderful staffing team and volunteers which enables our residents to take their time with any project. It is a safe and calm environment which offers flexibility for how each session progresses. This relaxed and more intimate situation enables us to bring a broader range of both residents and dementia residents into a warm, welcoming setting that is wheelchair and access friendly.’

Kimberley describes how unique our charity is: ‘The fact that The Holly Lodge Centre is located within Richmond Park enables our residents to have a complete sensory experience. However, the most important feature is the fact that within the park is a facility which is designed and resourced to specifically accommodate people whose access, mobility and comprehension can face limitations and sometimes exclusions in the modern world.’

Kimberley believes that our sessions truly benefit her residents, ‘The workshops touch on the sensory skills of sight, sounds and smell combined with improving their fine motor skills and the additional benefit of memory conversations about childhoods past or family trips taken. Because we are able to have a private, fully supported session our residents can really focus on engaging with the session and use their social skills while not being affected by other distractions.’

Feedback like this is so wonderful to receive as our aim as a charity is to be accessible to all. We want to reach out to all people in our local community especially those who would find it difficult to access our park and this includes older people and those with dementia.

We look forward to many more visits from Tennyson Grange and Sherwood Grange and would like to extend our thanks to Kimberley, Louise and Frazer for the wonderful care they show their residents.