Huntingdon teenagers have begun befriending elderly people living with dementia at a care home in the Cambridgeshire town.
The 12 16-17 year-olds from Cambridge Regional College’s Huntingdon campus and Hinchingbrooke School have met residents at Hunters Down care home, Hartford Road, for the first of what is planned to be many visits over the coming months.
YOPEY believes this YOPEY Befriender scheme is the first “intergenerational” befriending scheme between young and old in Cambridgeshire since the pandemic.
Hunters Down is owned by Excelcare, whose Chief Operating Office Sam Manning said: “The support and joy that YOPEY Befrienders provide is extremely special. Each incredible young person this charity recruits and trains not only boosts wellbeing for the people who live at Hunters Down, but also become beloved intergenerational connections, bringing happiness and meaning to each person – connections that bloom into wonderful friendships.
“We are forever grateful to this delightful group of people for the ongoing, unwavering support they provide to our team and the people who live at Hunters Down.”
Excelcare owns 31 care homes with 11 of them in Cambridgeshire.
Femi Solano, head of year 12 at Hinchingbrooke School, said: “It is wonderful to see our sixth-form students taking part in YOPEY Befriender. Our sixth formers have shown great empathy, interest, patience and kindness when interacting with the older generation and it is great to see them care for the community and build bonds with their elderly friends so quickly whilst discussing their ambitions so far and experiences in life.
“I would highly recommend the YOPEY befriender scheme to other sixth forms to enrich their students also.”
For CRC, its Professional Practice Assessor Donna Grant said: “Our students at Cambridge Regional College have embraced being part of YOPEY.
The students are able to gain and improve on so many interpersonal skills and are aware of the positive impact their visits have on the residents of the care home.
“We are looking forward to further collaboration with the charity to engage more of our students and support this great cause.”
Pearl Ewing, a YOPEY trustee and a retired care home executive, attended one of the first visits and was particularly impressed how a YOPEY Befriender “was paired with a lady who cannot speak but she chatted away to her constantly doing a word search”.
Following DBS checks, the students are now able to visit the residents in their free time and take part in the home’s activities to build up their YOPEY record of volunteering achievement that can be added to their job and university applications. Versions of these reports can also be shown by the home, the school and the college to their inspection bodies. YOPEY Befriender schemes have contributed to care homes being upgraded by the Care Quality Commission although Hunters Down is already rated Good.
The young people were trained to relate to people living with dementia by Tony Gearing MBE, the founder YOPEY, which runs befriending schemes between schools and care homes throughout East Anglia.
The scheme between these young people and Hunters Down is the first in Cambridgeshire since the start of the pandemic when the charity’s then YOPEY Befrienders were stopped from visiting care homes. Throughout the pandemic the charity got young people to continue to support the elderly ‘virtually’. It helped them to write letters, compile activities such as word searches, share artworks and make videos. YOPEY continues to offer this service to thousands of care homes for which it cannot provide in-home befriending.
Tony said: “I believe our Befrienders are unique and give more benefit to elderly people living in care homes because they are young. Most other befriending schemes use the middle-aged to visit the old-aged. While you would think the two older generations would have more in common, the elderly love to hear about the young’s lives and they love to give advice to people embarking on their adult lives.”
Tony added: “There is also dementia. A lot of residents in care homes have Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. We train YOPEY Befrienders to not be judgemental and to ‘live in the moment’. We have evidence from care professionals that our young volunteers relax residents and reduce their anxiety.”
Sixth-formers from three Ipswich schools have begun befriending elderly people living with dementia at a care home in the town.
The Suffolk charity running the scheme believes it is the first “intergenerational” befriending scheme between old and young in the county since the pandemic.
The 14 16-18 year-olds from one state school and two independent schools have met residents at Prince of Wales House, Prince of Wales Drive, for the first of what is planned to be many visits over the coming months.
The young people come from St Alban’s Catholic High School in Digby Road, Ipswich School in Henley Road and St Joseph’s College in Belstead Road and aim to visit weekly.
Prince of Wales House is owned by The Partnership In Care (TPIC), whose Clinical Director Rachel Ditton said: ““We are delighted to be working on this intergenerational project with YOPEY which brings many benefits for all involved. We are excited to be forming new experiences with the aim of these continuing well into the future.
“There is such a wealth of skills amongst those living in our homes and the volunteers from the YOPEY scheme that can be shared, resulting in symbiosis and subsequently a positive effect on wellbeing.”
TPIC owns six care homes in Suffolk.
The Head of Sixth Form at St Alban’s, Laura Lawrence, said: “I am delighted for our students to be taking part in this scheme. It gives them the opportunity to not only support their local community and build a bond with the older generation, but also the chance to develop themselves. The students taking part have already shown enhanced qualities of resilience, empathy and patience. A number of them have ambitions to pursue careers in the caring professions.”
Laura added that the YOPEY Befriender scheme is “utterly compatible with our Catholic ethos. The charity is really well organised to facilitate this important work. I would highly recommend YOPEY Befriender to any school looking to offer such enrichment to its students.”
The Headmaster of Ipswich School, Nicholas Weaver, said: “We are delighted that some of our sixth-formers are now YOPEY Befrienders. Care is a core value of Ipswich School and we encourage all our students to value their role in our local community. It is great to see our students putting this into practice and gaining so much from the experience. Many thanks to YOPEY who provided them with excellent training.”
Jonathan Orbell, the teacher who accompanies the Ipswich School students on regular visits, added: “For pupils to opt to socialise and play games with the residents speaks volumes about the group’s selfless nature and giving spirit. I have been fortunate to witness first hand the difference their interactions are making to the lives of the residents at Prince of Wales House.”
Following DBS checks, the students are now able to visit the residents in their free time and take part in the home’s activities to build up their YOPEY record of volunteering achievement that can be added to their job and university applications. Versions of these reports can also be shown by the home and the schools to their inspection bodies. YOPEY Befriender schemes have contributed to care homes being upgraded by the Care Quality Commission although Prince of Wales House is already rated Outstanding.
The young people were trained to relate to people living with dementia by Tony Gearing MBE, the founder of the Newmarket charity YOPEY, which runs befriending schemes between schools and care homes throughout East Anglia.
The scheme between these schools and Prince of Wales House is the first in Suffolk since the start of the pandemic when the charity’s then YOPEY Befrienders were stopped from visiting care homes. Throughout the pandemic the charity got young people to continue to support the elderly ‘virtually’. It got them to write letters, compile activities such as word searches, share artworks and make videos. YOPEY continues to offer this service to thousands of care homes for which it cannot provide in-home befriending.
Tony said: “I believe our Befrienders are unique and give more benefit to elderly people living in care homes because they are young. Most other befriending schemes use the middle-aged to visit the old-aged. While you would think the two older generations would have more in common, the elderly love to hear about the young’s lives and they love to give advice to people embarking on their adult lives.”
Tony added: “There is also the issue of dementia. A lot of residents in care homes have Alzheimer’s or other dementia diseases. We train YOPEY Befrienders not to be judgemental and to ‘live in the moment’. We have evidence from care professionals that our young volunteers relax residents and reduce their anxiety.”
YOPEY Befrienders from a Norfolk sixth-form put on a quiz and karaoke for residents at a housing-with-care scheme in their home town.
The young people from East Norfolk Sixth Form College in Great Yarmouth met 96-year-old Marjorie Teasdale, who recently moved in to the local care scheme.
She said: “We all had a good laugh. They are coming back to see me and I can’t wait.”
YOPEY founder Tony Gearing MBE said: “Marjorie is the same age as all the girls in this photograph put together. Yet this beautiful photograph shows just how well the two very different generations can get on.”
More than 20 young people from a sixth-form college have begun befriending elderly residents at a care home in Norfolk following training to be the first ‘YOPEY Befrienders’ since the pandemic.
The 22 16 to 19-year-olds, all girls, from East Norfolk Sixth Form College met residents at St Augustine’s Place housing with care in Addison Road for the first of what is planned to be many visits over the coming months.
The manager of St Augustine’s, Danielle Bullent, said: “Everyone was overwhelmed with emotion, seeing the YOPEY Befrienders interact with our tenants. The smiles and joy they created was a pleasure to witness. We cannot wait to have the students visiting regularly to develop their intergenerational friendships with our tenants.”
The sixth-formers’ teacher, Ellie Symonds, said: “For a lot of the students, this was their first experience in a care home, and with speaking with people who have dementia.
“Lots of stories and fun moments were shared between the students and the residents. Photos were shown of pets and stories were told of hobbies.”
Lucy Vincent, an employer engagement coordinator at the Gorleston college, said: “The opportunity for students to volunteer at St Augustine’s will be very valuable to their subjects and future applications to university and apprenticeships.
“Students will now be able to visit the residents in their free lessons and take part in St Augustine’s weekly group activities to build up a record of volunteering
The young people were trained to be ‘YOPEY Befrienders’ by Tony Gearing MBE, the founder of the Suffolk charity YOPEY, which is based near Newmarket and runs befriending schemes between sixth forms and care homes throughout East Anglia.
The scheme between East Norfolk Sixth Form College and St Augustine’s is the first visiting YOPEY Befriender scheme that YOPEY has started since before the pandemic.
Tony said: “I believe our Befrienders are unique and give more benefit to elderly people living in care homes because they are young. Most other befriending schemes use the middle-aged to visit the old-aged. While you would think the two older generations would have more in common, the elderly love to hear about the young’s lives and give advice to people embarking on their adult lives.”
Tony added: “There is also the issue of dementia. A lot of residents in care homes have Alzheimer’s or other dementia diseases. We train YOPEY Befrienders not to be judgemental and to ‘live in the moment’. We have evidence from care professionals that our young volunteers relax residents and reduce their anxiety.
“YOPEY Befriender schemes have contributed to care homes being upgraded by the Care Quality Commission.”
For young people, who cannot take part in a visiting YOPEY Befriender scheme, YOPEY offers the opportunity to ‘virtually’ support the lonely elderly by writing letters, making activities and shooting videos that are shared by the charity with hundreds of care homes UK-wide.
YOPEY, which has been supporting 2,000 care homes nationwide with young people’s letters during the pandemic, is returning to in-home visits this autumn and is looking for six homes to take part in the heavily subsidised scheme.
The charity, which has been running award-winning and CQC rating-enhancing schemes for care homes since 2013, has been given a donation that will pay the lion’s share of running intergenerational schemes in six homes for a year.
YOPEY recruits and trains the young people to relate to people living with dementia. Upon completion of training the young people become known as YOPEY Befrienders. YOPEY works out a timetable of YOPEY Befriender visits with the care home, and the young people write reports after each visit.
It is these reports that YOPEY compiles into comprehensive documents for participating homes to show to the CQC. YOPEY has contributed to about a quarter of the homes it has worked in to being upgraded.
A home in Wymondham, Norfolk, went from good to outstanding after the inspectors found YOPEY Befriender “helped to reduce people’s isolation and was particularly good for people who did not like big group activities. The service made them feel involved and happy.”
A home in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, also achieved outstanding after inspectors saw it had “strong links to the local community” by being involved in a YOPEY Befriender scheme. “On a weekly basis pupils spent time with people living at the home. The Intergenerational socialising was of benefit to all.”
A home in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, went from requires improvement to good after inspectors reported “working really well was the YOPEY Befriender scheme. This involved young people volunteering to visit people in a care home near their school to help ease loneliness and learn life lessons.”
It costs YOPEY £6,000 to set up and run a YOPEY Befriender scheme for a year, which can involve up to 30 young people and 1500 visits. The charity, which is run by a former Daily Telegraph journalist, is also very good at getting positive publicity for partner care homes. The donor has given £4,000 each for six schemes, leaving six care homes to find £2,000 each.
Preference for this discount is being given to homes in the East of England – Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. But homes in other parts of the UK can also apply.
YOPEY Founder Tony Gearing MBE said: “Our volunteers are really keen to get back into care homes, chatting to residents and making friends, helping wellbeing staff to put on activities and generally make the lives of the elderly better – and possibly helping to increase the home’s CQC rating.”
“I truly believe that ‘YOPEY Befriender’ is the best intergenerational scheme available to care homes in the UK!”
