Alison Stocks Dartmouth Caring
Dartmouth Caring - May 2011
In the two years that Alison Stocks has been at Dartmouth Caring, the charity has undergone changes that its manager and co-ordinator describes as “phenomenal.”
“The services Dartmouth Caring offers, the number of people it looks after, and the workload have all increased massively. There have been so many changes.
“What, not so long ago, was a transport service and a little help has now broadened into a huge breadth of services. Where we see there are gaps in what is available to those in need in the local community, we try to find a solution. Also, in the present world, everything has had to get more official. Our involvement with both our volunteers and our clients, the running of the charity itself, as well as applications for funding, have all become more complex.
“The detail required by this more methodical approach takes more time but also makes our service more professional, which is right – the world demands it. But we’re still all about caring with a capital C.”
Dartmouth Caring, founded in 1988, looks after those people in our community who need a helping hand. Traditionally this has involved caring for older residents – those who have been unwell, have had to go to hospital, are undergoing medical treatment, or are struggling to cope at home alone. There are currently 500 people on Dartmouth Caring’s books.
The charity steps in with a team of helpers – 60 volunteers - who offer shopping trips, transport, help with the gardening, a friendly face, a shoulder to cry on, a walk of the dog, company. Help is available for complicated forms, ensuring allowances aren’t missed. For many elderly people living alone in Dartmouth, or caring for a partner, the sense of isolation can be overwhelming – particularly if family are far away. Without a visit to the popular weekly lunch club in the Guildhall (at least 50 – 60 people attend each week) many would not see a soul from one week to the next.
Alison said Dartmouth’s unique setting and population were the reasons the town had such a need for this vital service.
“Dartmouth is isolated – many services stop at Totnes. The charity deals with an elderly population in an isolated location. There are a lot of people who have moved here as a couple, but who are left alone when their partner dies. Others are caring for their partner but miles away from any other members of their family, or we help people who have lived here all their lives, but their families have moved away. There are many different stories and we help them all.”
That help comes in many forms, and the newest is the arrival of a Bridge Worker. Alison said: “We are dealing with more and more complex cases, and while our staff and volunteers have a lot of knowledge, we found we needed access to more quick medical feedback.
“We wanted to be able to make basic assessments so that, if Dartmouth Caring is the first point of contact, we can inform the doctors or medical staff that the individual has, for example, an ear infection, and may need medical treatment quickly to stop serious deterioration and hospital admission. When people are elderly or vulnerable even a simple ailment can quickly worsen without medical assistance and some of our clients may not always recognise this but we can tell they are not quite their usual self. It doesn’t take the place of the doctors or nurses, but assists them. We employed our Bridge Worker (in fact two people who share the post) in agreement with the Dartmouth doctors and the hospital, and we fund the post jointly with the hospital. It will make our work in the community and assistance more effective.”
Dartmouth Caring is often a first port of call. Alison said: “Some feel they don’t want to trouble a doctor, so we see people who have not been to their doctor for years and as such are relatively unknown to the medical teams. They are not necessarily ill, just under the weather or getting older and perhaps not dealing with the effects of ageing. We can help improve their capabilities with our knowledge and awareness”
Among the many services is the popular Memory Café, looking at ways of coping with the effects of memory loss. It takes place once a month in the Townstal Community Hall and is a social occasion with advice on hand from volunteers and health care professionals. Alison said: ”We have memory books, stimulation projects and activities; helping people, both carer and cared for, to deal with the frustration of memory loss.”
The Visually Impaired Club in the library uses talking books and big print to maintain a love of reading. Again the emphasis is on the social – talking about shared enjoyment of literature over tea and biscuits. A counselling service, founded last year, has proved so popular Dartmouth Caring is considering extending it to three mornings a week. Appointments are almost instant, “When people need them,” Alison said.
The charity’s staff spend hours making sure people get the disability allowance, attendance allowance or blue badges they are entitled to. Alison explained: “The forms are complex and time consuming, and a lot of people are too daunted to fill them in, so they miss out on benefits. We make sure the forms are done and the benefits received.”
People come onto Dartmouth Caring’s radar in a number of ways – the mention of a concerned neighbour, by being discharged from hospital, or a direct approach for help. Every case is followed up. Alison said: “Our staff and our volunteers are our eyes and ears. They know to ask the right questions, to check that people have food in their fridge, can cope, are getting the help they need. They are so experienced and people open up to them, in a way they maybe wouldn’t to their family or friends, because they don’t want anyone to worry.
“There’s no bias – we are just there to help.”
Alison came to Dartmouth Caring first as a volunteer. Her background is in design, and she worked for various brands all over London producing fabric collections and interiors products from drawing board to the finished product. She exhibited internationally, travelled worldwide and said: “I loved it! It was a great life and I had a great time – but in the end I’d had enough of London.”
Her change of heart coincided with her parents and then her sister moving to Dartmouth, scene of many childhood holidays. Alison followed them and lives at Strete with her 21-year-old cat Billy. She and her partner James are part of the local Dartmouth community. Design is still important to her, and two days a week Alison works for a design company.
“My aim is to again start to do more paintings and not just commercial work, but at the moment I’m just too busy!” she said.
“I have two very different jobs, but my design background involved teams of people, managing projects and making things happen – and that’s not so different to Dartmouth Caring.
“ My mother has always said as a child if there was anything injured I would bring it home to care for it – just like now, helping people.”
First published May 2011 By the Dart