Intergenerational community
Belong Chester offers dementia care with a distinct difference, in that it is part of an intergenerational community in which there is a 25-place nursery alongside independent living apartments, day care and 24 hour support “households”. “There’s a real sense of community in Belong villages and the impact of the Chester nursery is just incredible,” says the charity’s head of dementia and care quality Caroline Baker. “I did wonder whether people with dementia might become distressed with youngsters running around, but in fact there is a great connection. I met Bill in one household whose wife had passed away and he was struggling with his grief. Now he’s a different man, glowing all the time and participating in the community thanks to the nursery.”