Day Centre for adults with learning disabilities and dementia celebrates tenth anniversary

A day centre for adults with learning disabilities and dementia is celebrating their tenth anniversary with music and dancing.

The Florence House Day Centre in Dearham near Maryport opened in 2014 and supports 25 adults per day.

Staff say music is a big part of everyday life but for the special occasion, a local musician performed songs by artists including Billy Joel.

Nicky Hayden, who works at Florence House, says music can help many people with Dementia to reflect on the past: “Music can take them anywhere, usually back to a happy place.

“It’s amazing to see people who have lost their memories or the power of speech, when they put a song on, they know every single word.”

Margaret Eccles says she enjoys coming to the centre because it’s allowed her to make new friends.

She told ITV Border: “It’s company and it stops me from being at home alone.”

Julie Tiffen has been coming to Florence House for ten years, she said: “I really like it here.”

“There’s music and dancing every day and then until dinnertime and it will start again.”

However, the tenth anniversary is also a celebration of the difficult times the day centre has overcome.

The owner Lynsey Edmonson said that when the Covid lockdown was announced in March 2020, Florence House was forced to close.

Although they were able to reopen in July 2020 following government guidance, she described it as a “truly challenging time in all of their lives.”

Since the beginning, people who use the centre have been able to look after animals outside like canary birds and horses.

The idea was inspired by Lynsey’s own experience as a nurse.

“When I had the idea to open Florence House, everybody thought I was going a bit crackers. I wanted a pony and I wanted some pigs and some animals.

“I wanted to have a new concept of day care to change and have something more meaningful and purposeful for people with Dementia and Learning Disabilities.”

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