A SOCIAL enterprise has supported more than 5000 people and earned numerous awards for its innovative care including in Wellington.
The Filo Project concept sees paid, trained hosts welcome small groups of people with early to moderate dementia into their homes for the day.
Transport is provided where possible, as well as a home‑cooked lunch and activities that suit the group’s interests.
The intimate, homely setting allows people to grow in confidence and make friends, with many finding their dementia symptoms stabilise or even improve.
Meanwhile, family carers have regular, extended respite from the challenges of looking after their loved one.
The organisation started out in 2014 with just two groups in Devon, and has since expanded to nearly 100 groups across the region and also now provides family support and wellbeing services.
Carol Scott’s husband attends The Filo Project twice a week and said: “My husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s seven years ago. Initially he attended one group every week and then two. Seven years from diagnosis, I am still astonished at the benefits brought by Filo.
“My husband looks forward to his sessions because he has a stimulating day, likes his hosts and has company which is not me.
“The fact that we are still able to go on all sorts of holidays is, I believe, the result of his attendance at Filo groups. We go on cruises, self catering holidays and package tours and he participates well in all the activities on offer.
“His short term memory is worse than it was but he is still very sociable and the deterioration I had expected has not yet materialised.
“The other great benefit is that on two days a week my time is my own.
“I know my husband is safe, fed and in stimulating company and that he is reliably collected and returned home while I can pursue my own interests and responsibilities.”
CEO and Co-Founder of The Filo Project, Libby Price, added: “Dementia takes so much from families and is incredibly challenging. But people can live a good life for longer if we treat them as the valued person they still are - that’s the whole ethos we’re built on.
“We’re now planning a new peer support service where families can meet others going through similar challenges, and working to improve care for people who have dementia and live alone.”
The social enterprise is also hosting the day-long Devon Dementia conference at Westpoint Arena in Exeter on October 2.
The conference will feature a range of interactive activities designed to centre the experiences of carers of people living with dementia and will share insights, explore emerging approaches, and identify new opportunities to strengthen support, connections, wellbeing and outcomes for carers.
With up to 230 delegates attending in person, the event will be live-streamed to audiences across Devon and beyond.
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