CNJ features dementia café
The following article appeared in the 22nd November 2018 issue of the Camden New Journal
Just their cup of tea First dementia café is ‘warm and friendly’
WHAT could be better than a delicious meal washed down with a nice cup of tea while enjoying a natter with friends?
Users and volunteers at the Dementia Café, launched this week at Highgate Newtown Community Centre, agree that such a recipe is a winner. They packed the Bertram Street centre on Tuesday to enjoy £2.50 lunches and a host of activities.
The café is the brainchild of Labour councillor Larraine Revah, who works at the centre. Her 90-year-old mother Sonia Greenwald is a regular visitor, and her experiences prompted Larraine to set up the café.
“My mum has dementia and she was really quite bored being at home all day,” Cllr Revah said. “She felt fed up because she found it hard to get out and about. She comes to the centre, does some art, joins in a quiz, has a sing-song. “We wanted to take this a step further and set up the first dementia café in Camden. We are going to have museums coming in to host memory sessions, and lots of arts and crafts and games – all over a nice cup of tea.”
Older people’s champion, Labour councillor Pat Callaghan, added: “We hope this will be the first of many. We hope people come from right across Camden to join us every week.”
Eddie Caveney brought his mother Jean, 90, to the café after reading about it in the New Journal. “You can just turn up and there is no need to pay anything. It is nice to come out with my mum to a place that feels warm and friendly.”
The Photograph features Highgate Councillor Anna Wright and Celia Mitchell
