Foxwalls staff member Julie Reece with Dianne Attwood in the kitchens at Shugborough

Walk down memory land gives older people back their youth

Older people living in Staffordshire are re-living their youth with a reminiscence project taking place in three areas of the county.

Staffordshire County Council's Social Care and Health teams have joined forces with the Library Service to hold a series of sessions in Stafford, East Staffordshire and South Staffordshire.

Social care and library staff have been trained to lead sessions and various day service users and people living in residential homes have benefited so far. 

The library service has provided materials, and in addition to visiting local libraries, excursions have included a day trip to Shugborough, visits from the Mobile Museum, and a food and drink themed event where old fashioned sweets, tea, coffee and cake were enjoyed.

County Councillor Susan Woodward, Cabinet Member for Healthier Communities and Older People said: "These sessions are giving older people the chance to reminisce about the past and how times have changed. 

Those who have participated in sessions so far have commented how beneficial they have been.  Although everyone can enjoy these trips they can be particularly valuable for people with dementia who have stronger long term memory. These sessions will help sufferers who attend to trigger valuable past memories.

"Because staff have been specifically trained to deliver these sessions they are also able to sensitively handle any issues that may arise.

"Working in partnership with the Libraries has us to really bring the past to life - for example, in Stafford one of the sessions looked at holidays and was greatly enhanced by the books and other resources provided by the library related to this. 

"Following this success, future sessions will be taking place with a view to rolling this unique project out across the rest of the county to give many more older people the chance to participate."

People who have enjoyed the trips include Dianne Attwood, who was receiving respite care at the county council-run Foxwalls care home.

Ms Attwood said: "I have really enjoyed the visit - it's been one of the most memorable I've been on.  Touring the servants' quarters brought some old memories back to life.  Some of the outfits that we saw that were worn in those days were beautiful."

And Bridget Hill, Head of Home at Foxwalls said: "All of the residents who went on the trip have seemed to really benefit from the visit and were very enthusiastic about their day out.  It's a great opportunity for us to be able to offer these opportunities and we are now looking to plan future reminiscence activities with our partners."

Page Last Modified: 26/09/2008 10:27:44

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