Not-for-profit provider Belong Limited has launched dementia cafés across its eight care villages, offering a warm and welcoming space for those living with dementia.
The cafés – dubbed ‘B’s Café’ – will give residents and their guests the opportunity to enjoy a range of experiences while accessing support and forming new friendships. The programme will include arts and crafts workshops, pet therapy, specialist exercise classes, and visits from musical performers.
Belong already offers a free Admiral Nurse service to all Belong customers and their family members and carers. This dedicated dementia nurse service is available via Belong’s partnership with Dementia UK, providing advice for individuals and loved ones managing a life with dementia.
Belong is a charitable organisation, operating villages with a range of care, housing, and support options for older people. Each village boasts a wealth of amenities, including a bistro, hair salon, and exercise studio. People can choose to live independently in a Belong apartment or within a supported 24-hour care environment.
Bridget Lawler, Admiral Nurse at Belong, said: “Dementia affects not only the person living with it, but also their family and friends, who are often their carers, too. We understand the challenges they can face, sometimes on their own, and that’s why we’ve launched B’s Café, to give a helping hand and a support network, which we know is vitally important to have.”
Admiral Nurse Caroline Clifton added: “B’s café is named after our inspirational colleague, Belinda Jones, who is sadly no longer with us after losing a two-year battle with cancer. She helped shape our values, including being compassionate, and this extends outside our village to the wider community. Her legacy lives on and we know how much something like this would mean to her and her family.”
Speaking of the inaugural gathering at Belong Crewe, one guest said: “My husband is living with dementia and he was fully engaged and he said how marvellous the afternoon was – to hear him say this aloud means so much to me.”
