Who is Mentoring For?
Case Studies
Elizabeth - An 80-year-old lady was referred to Upstream from a residential home. She had recently moved to the home and found that she was bored as there was nothing to do. A mentor visited the lady and realised she may enjoy attending a local Upstream group. The lady came to the group and told the mentor she had enjoyed the company and liked doing something new.
Someone who works for the home has since contacted the mentor. They knew that the residents at the home needed some sort of stimulation but didn’t have any ideas and were unsure how to get things going. The mentor will visit the home again in June and advise the staff on how to arrange some activities.
John – a 60-year-old man with early onset Alzheimers disease has been attending an Upstream group for a little while now. He has become popular in the group and helps new members to get acquainted with the others. His wife has been very supportive of Upstream since he got involved and encourages him with the idea of creative activity. She still works and finds peace of mind knowing that he has somewhere to go during the day.
He recently asked if he could attend another Upstream group. Another local charity provided a befriender to take him into the next town by bus so he could attend that group. Once he knew the route he could go by himself. He is now attending regularly and helping the new members as he does in the first group. He has also started to attend the exercise group that Upstream began in association with another local organisation, the 5x30 activity network.
Philomena – said: “I’m going to try catching the bus to the group, and then I can walk through town before catching one home.” This is a great move forward as I had to walk with her to her local Village shop on my first visit. She also wouldn’t have come to the group at all unless a driver who she knew picked her up.’
Colin - a man of 75 who had a stroke and very little sight. The mentor engaged him in an Upstream group but initially he was depressed at his lack of dexterity (marquetry had been his original skill) and reluctant to join activities as his day-to-day shopping and cooking were his over-riding needs. He became more open to activities once he had settled in residential care. With the support of Upstream, he and others in a group were visited by some handbell ringers. He found he could ring with his good hand, and, as he could not read the music, one of the Ringers stood by him with a bell an octave below. When she rang hers, he knew he should do the same. He was proud to take part in ‘campanology’ and pleased to be able to use his good hand.
Rita - a lady of 73 who was partially sighted, diabetic, lonely and anxious about moving house. Widowed 40 years ago, her only daughter lives quite some distance away and visits rarely. After much reluctance she agreed to join Upstream’s circle dancing group and, after a few sessions, now says, "You know how much it means to me". The circle dance teacher explains clearly in words as well as by demonstration. Holding hands in a circle is also supportive and brings a sense of community among the dancers. Recently her neighbour was not able to drive her, so with encouragement from her mentor she organised the ‘Ring and Ride’ herself. "He brought this huge bus for me, just me, and afterwards he came right up to the room to collect me. I was quite brave really. I needed it because I shouldn't have been able to see in the dark evening."
An example of signposting:
Report from an Upstream mentor signposting a client:
The male participant had been referred to Upstream. The mentor explained: “I rang and gave details of the Cameo Club to the client’s wife as I promised to find out if there were younger people going at the moment. The club is full every day at present and there is a waiting list but there are 3 or 4 other men going, so this is a possibility. I also gave details of the Uffculme Over 50’s Club after ringing the organiser for this year’s programme. She thought her husband would be interested in this as there were several good talks over the next few months. Unfortunately there are outings arranged for the rest of the season, which he would not be able to join due to his health problems.
Group Case Study:
Visit to the John Greenway group in Tiverton
John Greenway provides independent, privately owned flats for older people. Upstream helped to start an activity and social group for ‘John Greenway’ people. The group has continued independently. The members have been meeting regularly since Upstream’s last session with them in January 2005. They have worked on many projects themselves including dolls clothes for the Children’s Hospice, blankets, kneelers for the church and knitted clothes for the premature baby unit at Heavitree Hospital. They were running out of ideas. So three members of the group attended the Upstream Winter Event in 2007 for inspiration.
They were very impressed by the Upstream wall hangings on display, the range of activities on the day, and the number of people present. They decided that they would like to make a wall hanging for their communal lounge – to brighten the room and, because they are the first residents to live in the scheme, they felt it would be a good way to record that and leave a lasting memory. They felt daunted by the task however and had no idea how to begin so asked an Upstream mentor to visit and give them direction.
There were 8 members present and they already had some fairly clear ideas of the things they wanted to put into their hanging and that it would be a kind of patchwork based on the history of John Greenway and the Almshouses. The mentor left them feeling much more confident, reinvigorated (their word) and excited by the project.
This is a good example of the way in which some simple long-term ‘maintenance’ work by Upstream mentors can help to keep a group active and involved.
