ArtsPAL Befriender Network
ArtsPAL (Preserve Active Life)
Empowering individuals with a dementia to thrive – through shared creative interest
| The ArtsPAL Befriender Network coordinates cultural and creative befriender organisations who provide services to enable individuals to access arts as pre- and post-diagnostic support for dementia. The idea is to enable and empower them to take up social prescribing opportunities from the outset, to combat loneliness and preserve their brain health and resilience in the community. This webpage acts as a directory of befrienders who can accompany individuals to arts events face-to-face or help to guide them online. In the same way that A4D signposts events for dementia, the network links to befriender organisations, to enable individuals and social prescribers to discover their services. ArtsPALs can follow up the organisations’ links to register. Organisations who wish to be signposted to as part of the ArtsPAL Befriender Network may register here. |
Why?
Over 200,000 people are diagnosed with dementia each year. A dementia diagnosis has a devastating impact on them and their families. One-third live alone.
- Nurturing an individual’s interests, social prescribing link workers can direct them to local arts and wellbeing opportunities. However, for people living alone, the anxiety of travel and the motivation to leave home can prove a challenge.
- Befriending services for dementia are often offered further down the line, as home visits. Help is needed at the outset of symptoms.
- ArtsPALs can enjoy weekly activities of creative and cultural interest together, the befriender providing pre- and post-diagnostic support in enabling the individual to revive access to arts to preserve brain health and resilience in the community.
Who can be an ArtsPAL?
- Befrienders trained by existing organisations.
- National Trust, museum, and heritage volunteers.
- Arts and medical students consolidating dementia awareness training.
- Arts facilitators consolidating dementia awareness training.
- Culture and Age-Friendly Champions, NHS Health Champions, Dementia Champions.
- Art lovers whose spouses have died of a dementia.
- Individuals with early symptoms of a dementia, for mutual support.
How?
Our goal is to work as a network of befriending organisations supporting cultural wellbeing activity. In the first instance, this web-page will link to members of the ArtsPAL Befriender Network. Like NHS toolkits, dementia directories, meeting centres, memory and support hubs, it signposts to local befriender organisations with whom ArtsPALs register, to be recommended to individuals during assessment for dementia and as post-diagnostic support.
The idea is to support individuals to access social prescribing opportunities from the outset of symptoms.
To find out more about the network or its members contact cicely@arts4dementia.org.uk. To join the ArtsPAL Befriender Network, please complete the registration form.
ArtsPAL Befriender Network
| London | East of England |
|
|
| North West | South East |
| North East | South West |
| Yorkshire | Scotland |
| West Midlands | Northern Ireland |
| East Midlands | Wales |
