No support from family

Michael* is originally from an eastern European country and lives in a warden controlled flat with no support from family or next of kin.

He was not engaging with anyone and often rang his lifeline just to get someone to visit, so we felt that we could have a better positive impact on his life and make more of a difference.

One of our carers, Lucy, was able to build a fantastic bond with Michael which saw him opening up more about his interests and wishes. We discussed what he was looking for during his companionship hours and he said that he would enjoy activities such as painting and as it was close to Christmas at the time, he would like to go see Santa and attend our monthly coffee club. We also discovered he enjoyed fish and chips and we arranged with the scheme warden to have these delivered weekly to his flat. He was not enjoying microwave meals so we purchased an air fryer for him and this made all the difference as he could cook a range of food in it.

During his shopping visit, items were purchased to be able to complete activities with him such as colouring books and paint and Michael really enjoyed being creative again.

Michael now attends every coffee club and gets involved in the activities we put on.

The difference in Michael has been startling. He is now fully engaged and has a more positive outlook on life. His next goal is to have a ride in a hot air balloon so that’s testament to the progress he has made with the support of Lucy and the rest of the Caremark team.

*Name changed