Charity call for volunteers for Darlington dementia project to support carers

Age UK North Yorkshire and Darlington are looking for people who have cared for someone with dementia to take part in a new project.

The charity which runs a dementia respite day care centre in Darlington have secured funding from the Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust to run the Dementia Peer Support scheme.

Volunteers will be given six weeks of training and then support people caring for loved ones with the disease.

Helen Hunter, the chief executive of Age UK Darlington and North Yorkshire said: "When someone gets a dementia diagnosis it's really tough for them and really tough for their families.

"What we are looking for are some family carers, people who have been caring for loved ones with dementia and have come out the other side, either sadly their loved one has passed away or they've gone into the full time care and they are no longer in that very demanding full time role.

"They've got this really rich understanding and really good knowledge of how to care for someone with dementia. We are looking to bring them in as volunteers and run a deep training programme so they can understand about boundaries, active listening and they will go on and get supervised and lots of support afterwards.

"We are looking for people who can use their experience to help other families."

Anyone interested can call 01325362832 or email enquiries@ageuknyd.org.uk

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...