Our Activity Day Clubs are for people living with mild to moderate dementia and are aimed to engage individuals in fun and therapeutic activity with others in the same situation.

A Carer’s Perspective

My Mum was first diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment in 2012 and became involved with the Memory Service at Mount Gould Hospital. We were allocated a support worker from the Alzheimer’s Society who suggested that mum may benefit from attending weekly sessions of Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) with Memory Matters.

At the time these were two hour sessions based in Mount Gould hospital. Mum would return home happy and content after the sessions, so we were delighted when Memory Matters offered all day sessions from 10am to 4pm on a Friday. I attended a talk by a dementia specialist who said that CST can be as effective as the medication prescribed for dementia.

Mum is dropped in by us or a taxi and is met in Moments Cafe by a Memory Matters worker. We believe that the Memory Matters Activity Club is great value for money as mum enjoys her day of activities immensely and my sister and I love the fact that we know she is in a safe supportive environment, spending time with other people living with dementia, and Memory Matters facilitators and volunteers who she regards as friends. Mum may not always remember what she has done that day, but she knows that she enjoyed it! The facilitators are always on hand and keep in close contact if anything has happened during the day that I need to know about.

“It gets your brain working a bit and it’s nice to spend time with different people rather than just family and old friends (lovely as they are!) and to feel independent. It gives me something to talk about when I get home – if I remember!”Participant

What it’s like to attend
“I enjoy going to the activity club on a Friday. The team are always there. It’s a very sociable group, friendly, welcoming and non -judgemental. It’s a place I can go and be myself. It feels comfortable being there, very informative and we learn lots of things.”

“It is nice to be among like-minded people who understand how I may feel; we don’t necessarily talk about it but I know that they are aware.”

“Sometimes for lunch I will have a sandwich from the cafe downstairs. Last eek I had a cooked breakfast so didn’t need much when I got home.”

“We look at newspaper headlines and discuss current affairs, we have a quiz and play word games. Sometimes the facilitator plays a guitar which is lovely.”

A Bit More About The Clubs
Find out more information about Dementia Support in Cornwall and Devon.