Squares for Care
Squares for Care demonstrates positive partnership and community spirit while creating a resource for those living with dementia.
The 'Squares for Care’ project provides care and compassion within local Communities
The creation and launch of a winter project by Narinder Gill, Director of Bluebird Care Wakefield has successfully demonstrated the power of positive partnerships and communities working together to create a resource for those living with dementia.
Over the last six months Narinder has engaged and led local community groups to create ‘Squares for Care’ patchwork quilts based on the concept of ‘Twiddle muffs’.
We believe these quilts will not only provide a source of comfort and warmth but also visible, tactile and sensory stimulation and in doing so, help to channel feelings of agitation and giving restless hands ‘a moment of peace.
Key to the success of this project, has the been the partnership with Bluebird Care Wakefield and the Alzheimer’s Society, Wakefield and Five Towns Dementia Action Alliance, Carers Wakefield, Prince of Wales Hospice.
Together, over 50 quilts have been created. Featured amongst these are ‘showpiece quilts’ which will be showcased at the Featherstone and Sandal libraries. These will provide a great talking point for the whole of the community. Furthermore, Wakefield sewing group based in East Hardwick and Mirfield sewing group have been instrumental in assembling the quilts.
Wendy Porter Services Manager Alzheimer’s Society speaks positively of the project through recognising the potential it has created to enable and inspire others:
We believe these quilts will not only provide a source of comfort and warmth but also visible tactile and sensory stimulation and in doing so help to channel feelings of agitation and giving restless hands a moment of peace.
At Bluebird Care, Wakefield, Narinder has moved this project forward through further personalising the approach taken by working with families to try to capture the most relevant and poignant memories and translating this into squares. As Narinder reflects:
This has enabled our carers to use the quilts as the basis for talking points to encourage customers to talk about their formative years, encouraging varied conversations, stimulating memories. It has proved such a valuable tool for the engagement of many customers and in doing so, engaging and empowering across all cultures, ethnicities and communities.
Thank you to everyone who attended and worked hard to produce over 50 quilts. This project has successfully raised awareness of the anxiety and frustrations faced by people living with dementia and has stimulated an excitement across the City of Wakefield to get creative.
Bluebird Care Wakefield has successfully engaged many organisations to come together to work in partnership to support people living with dementia.
See our article published in Wakefield Express here!
