Volunteers Offer Digital Treasure Chest to Tenants With Dementia

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living roomVolunteers at one of Scotland’s leading care and housing providers, Bield Housing & Care, are aiming to help improve the lives of tenants with dementia in Dundee through creating a ‘digital treasure chest’.

Volunteer Befrienders, Social Activity Assistants and Silver Surfer Tutors based in Dundee attended an information tutorial which was hosted by the Memory Box Network, a local charity founded in 2011.

The Memory Box Network are the creators of ‘ourbigbox.com’, a platform which allows families and carers of those with dementia to upload a series of images and multimedia clips to an individual’s account to help trigger and encourage memories of previous events.

Friends and family across the world can have access to an individual’s account to upload content and users also have the opportunity to share content with other members, allowing them the chance to connect with those around them through the sharing of stories.

The free to use service also allows those with dementia to take part in ‘reminiscence sessions’, a series of written and oral life histories intended to prompt discussions, promote interactions and improve psychological well-being.Couple Outdoors 1 - Copy (2)

Always looking to enrich the quality of lives for those who use their services, Bield’s Dundee volunteers have been learning how to use the system and how to create accounts which they can use with tenants.

Jeni Sinclair, Volunteer Development Worker for Bield, said: “We decided that we would get a few of our volunteers to attend an information session as we have seen the work done by the Memory Box Network and are really impressed by the innovative idea.

“We have tenants living in some of our developments who have dementia and we truly believe that the use of ourbigbox.com could really help to trigger memories and past events.

“We also recognise how difficult and frustrating not remembering a specific event or time can be for those with dementia and so we feel that the use of images and the various reminiscence sessions will be a great way to help encourage old memories, while also helping to reduce stress levels and build self confidence.”

Bield is a registered charity that came from humble beginnings, starting out with just one development in Bo’ness to become a major of a wide range of housing and services for around 20,000 older people across 23 local authority areas.

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