'My rewarding role as a host to dementia group'

AN award-winning, not-for-profit dementia day care service, The Filo Project, is looking for more people to host small groups of people with dementia in their homes in Somerset to meet growing demand in the area.

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Just as a childminder opens up their home, the Filo Project's innovative model sees carefully-selected hosts collecting small groups of people with early to moderate dementia and welcoming them into their home for a shared day and home-cooked lunch together.

The Filo Project is well-established in the South West of England and since its formation in 2014 has supported around 5,000 people with dementia.

Hosts come from all walks of life and do not need experience in care, as full training is provided.

Emma Bottomley, pictured right, hosts a Filo group in her home in Somerton. Having worked in graphic design for 20 years, Emma retrained as a Creative Arts Facilitator and also started working for The Filo Project this summer.

Emma said: “The commercial world of design wasn’t giving me the people-facing element I craved for. I came across The Filo Project while I was researching local dementia care as part of my Creative Arts Therapy course. I knew as soon as I read about them I had to be a part of it.