Will you help us be there for people living with dementia?
For someone living with dementia, the world can feel frightening and confusing. Leaving home becomes harder, social connection fades and agitation and distress can become part of everyday life.
As a hospice, we know that dementia is a life-limiting illness – one that deserves the same expert, compassionate care as any other. And yet, with such a significant gap in services for people living with dementia, too many are left without the support they so desperately need.
At St Joseph’s, we refuse to let those people face dementia alone. With your help, they don’t have to.
Our service helps local people with dementia live fuller, calmer and richer lives
Our Dementia Wellbeing East London service – DWEL – is the first community service of its kind in the UK, designed specifically for people living with moderate to advanced dementia.
DWEL offers something rare and precious: personalised, compassionate support in a safe and comforting environment, that meets people wherever they are in their dementia journey.
Local volunteers deliver a 10-week programme using Namaste Care – a proven approach rooted in the power of sensory stimulation and genuine human connection.
Every session is built around the individual – the music they love, the memories that bring comfort, the small things that make them feel safe. Through gentle hand massage, favourite songs and meaningful activities, our volunteers help people with dementia feel valued and less alone.
Not only this, but our service also offers other ways for people with dementia to connect with the world around them, including music and movement groups hosted at the Hospice.
All care offered by DWEL is always free of charge.
We need your help to continue
“To keep this vital service running – the volunteers, the training, the activities, the transport – we depend on the support of people like you.
Your kind gift could train volunteers, who bring creativity, kindness and genuine human connection with every visit. It can help to run dementia-friendly groups and events that give people a reason to get out, to laugh and to feel like part of something. It also helps us to support families and carers who quietly carry so much, giving them tools to cope and moments of reprieve.
Thank you.”
Rachael, DWEL Manager
A story from our sessions
Lucy*, in her eighties and living on her own in Hackney, had been living with moderate to advanced Alzheimer’s disease for five years when she was referred to DWEL. Despite daily visits from carers and her son, she was lonely, isolated and struggling with high anxiety.
After an assessment from the DWEL team, Lucy was matched with volunteer Sandy, a retired community physiotherapist whose calm confidence and warmth made her the perfect fit. Using sensory and reminiscence activities including crafts linked to her years working for a milliner, Sandy gently guided Lucy away from looped thoughts and helped ease her anxiety.
When Sandy learned Lucy had once had a beloved dog, the DWEL team introduced a lifelike toy dog. Lucy named him Bobby. She knew he wasn’t real, but the comfort he brought her very much was.
Another breakthrough came when they discovered Lucy had once volunteered at St Joseph’s Hospice. Gently, they began to coordinate visits, bringing her in for events and music groups, which she quickly came to love. In those moments, Lucy remembered volunteering here – and the Hospice became a place that held safety and joy for her, bringing back positive memories that dementia had long since made hard to reach.
“Sandy just got it from the start. She brings a wonderful positive energy to my Mum, connecting meaningfully with her and giving her a purpose.”
Lucy’s son
*name changed
Could we help you?
DWEL is a free service for people living with advanced dementia in the boroughs of Hackney, the City of London and Tower Hamlets.
Could you help us?
It would not be possible to provide this service without volunteers. If you are patient, enthusiastic and have an interest in supporting local people with dementia, we’d love to hear from you.