Speaker Meeting, 6.15 for 6.30pm

Care Home Volunteers represent a largely untapped resource that can hugely benefit the quality of life for older people in care homes.

Some people in care homes have no relatives or friends to visit them. Since May volunteers in Swindon and other towns in Wiltshire have been going in to care homes on a regular basis to chat and spend some time with residents who would otherwise not have a visitor.

Our speaker at this meeting was Jeni Burchell (on the right) who is a Co-ordinator with Care Home Volunteers. She explained that the Charity was set up by people who had had relatives in care homes and saw the need for visitors. Some residents of care homes have no family or friends who can visit and perhaps have no contact with the “outside world”.

The scheme is working in Salisbury, Chippenham and Swindon. Volunteers visited the first homes in Swindon in May 2018 and currently there are 12 volunteers, working in 15 care homes, with 10 more either in training or waiting for training. Most volunteers give around 10 hours per month but this is flexible.

With Jeni was Helen Herd (left, in the picture) who is a Care Homes volunteer.  She told us of her visits which she does with her dog, Cuba. She shared with us some of her experiences and said that the visits are different every time and are rewarding and emotional.

Jeni illustrated her talk with a video showing co-ordinators, volunteers and residents. This volunteer work is not for everyone but from the video it was possible to see the benefits to all who are involved. Care Home Volunteers has been shortlisted for the Caring UK Awards.

To find out more visit the Care Home Volunteers website