The Caring Café provides support and information by groups led by the Alzheimer’s Society and is run by Crossroads Care in partnership with Richmond Council. The Mayor of Richmond, Cllr Boulton, marked the official opening of the café at the Homelink Centre in Hospital Bridge Road on Saturday (August 2). Homelink is one of the Mayor’s chosen charities for the year.
Crossroads Care originally launched the first Caring Café in 2002 at Sheen Lane Day Centre. Since then the service has become increasingly important for those who care for someone with dementia. To allow as many people as possible to have access to such a well-loved service, the Caring Café will continue to run from Sheen Lane Day Centre on the third Saturday of each month. On the first Saturday of the month it will be open at its new location at Homelink Day Centre.
“The Caring Café is a place where people living with dementia can share their experiences in a safe environment. It brings together carers, loved ones, and trained experts from Crossroads Care. It has become an invaluable service which is why I did not hesitate to select Crossroads Care as one of my chosen charities for the year.”
Janet Fevrier, CEO of Crossroads Care, added:
‘As a member of the Richmond Dementia Alliance . We are very pleased to be able to work closer with Homelink and continue our work with the Alzhiemers society. Opening this new Caring Café for gives people living with dementia and their carers in this area better access to this much needed service’ .
The Caring Café is now part of the Carers’ Hub Service, a local health resource that was commissioned by Richmond Council. The hub provides a range of services delivered by a group of nine charities that work together. It is managed by Richmond Carers’ Centre. Services can be anything from emotional support, short breaks and leisure programmes, training and workshops for carers, and a host of other practical support initiatives.
The Caring Café will be among the first services to run from the Homelink Day Centre following a regeneration project that will make it a pioneering 21st Century Centre. Thanks to £1m plus of funding from the Council, Department of Health, and Homelink, the centre is being totally rebuilt to provide a state-of the-art, dementia-friendly centre.
For more information on the Carers’ Hub visit http://www.richmondchs.org/
For more information on Crossroads Care
http://www.carers.org/local-service/richmond-and-kingston
For more information on Richmond Carers’ Centre visit http://www.richmondcarers.org
For media enquiries contact Mark Coleman on 020 8487 5158 or email mark.coleman@richmond.gov.uk