Raising awareness around later life community matters

Raising community awareness around the topics that matter, is really important to the team at Home Instead.

It is our belief that in working together as a community, across our organisations, we can really improve circumstances for those that are vulnerable.

Our Owner/MD, Mark McGlade, has been providing workshops for local community groups, support organisations and businesses across the Exeter and East Devon region for some years now. His role as Chair of the East Devon Coastal Towns Dementia Action Alliance, sees him host a large number of Dementia Awareness sessions for care professionals, and family and friends of those living with Dementia.

Raising awareness around Dementia is vital to us at Home Instead. Knowing that the community has a level of ‘dementia awareness’ means that when accompanying particular clients on outings, enjoying time together in public places and accessing support services, our care professionals can feel confident and most importantly, our clients feel comfortable. This is just one motivation behind our ‘Out Instead’ project, which is seeing us create a directory of local places of interest, coffee stops and country walks, that are all accessible and welcoming and can be classed as a ‘Client and Care Professional Friendly Venue’.

In addition to Dementia, there are a wide variety of separate topics that are vitally important to our community, and this summer – as we start to cautiously gather once again – it has been wonderful to put in a full programme of Community Talk workshops which can take place face to face.

Mark has led tailor-made Dementia Awareness sessions for the teams at the RD&E Dental Health Department, LED Leisure, Jurassic Fibre and most recently, Sanctuary Care in Exmouth and the Probus members of the Newton Poppleford branch. Mark has also held open workshops for the Sidmouth community via Sid Valley Volunteers – receiving some fantastic, and much appreciated, feedback for each of these events.

In the coming months, diary dates include workshops arranged with numerous local organisations such as The Welcome Centre in Exmouth, Sid Valley Help, The Donkey Sanctuary, Park Life Heavitree, Sidmouth Voluntary Services and Ottery St Mary Parish Church, to name just a few!

Requests for information are varied, but the crucial topics of first aid and basic life support, avoiding falls and hospitalisation, staying nourished in older age, Parkinson’s disease, choosing the right care, and scam awareness, remain important to the community and to those that care for them.

Mark, and the team at Home Instead are delighted to offer a variety of free presentations. Our ethos is to enlighten, engage and education through informative, lively sessions which we are able to deliver at a venue of your choice, at our Training Suite*, or via video conferencing.

For further information, click HERE for our Community Talks overview. If you would like to speak to a member of our team to organise a workshop for your own group, organisation or business, please don’t hesitate. Call our team on 01395 200600, take a look at the News & Events section of our website for information, or follow us on Facebook for event updates. We look forward to hearing from you.

*Numbers may be limited, and Covid-19 safety restrictions may apply.