Community Hubs a “lifeline” for rural dementia support in Lincolnshire
Memory cafés and wellbeing hubs are helping families in Lincolnshire’s villages find support and connection
Accessing dementia and mental health support in rural Lincolnshire can be a challenge - but new community initiatives are making sure no one is left behind.
Community Mental Health Hubs, backed by local charities and the NHS, are now reaching into villages as well as towns, ensuring people in isolated areas can still find the help they need.
One example is the Memory Café in Fulbeck, near Grantham, run by Jo Taylor, Community Connector for Grantham and Rural with Shine Lincolnshire. She says the outreach work is vital for those who can’t easily get to larger towns.
“There’s a lot of people in Lincolnshire who don’t live in a town. They live in the villages, and we didn’t want anyone to be disadvantaged for accessing resources, support, getting to know other people, reducing isolation, purely because they’re in a village. So we brought the hubs out to them, ”Jo explained.
The Memory Café provides a mix of games, quizzes, and social activities alongside practical advice and signposting to support services.
For carers as well as people living with dementia, the hubs are described as a lifeline.
“It can be a minefield when somebody first gets diagnosed with dementia, the family can literally feel like a rabbit in headlights," Jo said.
"They may not have ever accessed support before, and now they need it, so they come in and they’re just like, oh, I can breathe, just for that hour, that two hours, I can breathe, and I know that you will support me.”
Beyond the practical help, the hubs are forging new friendships. Jo says the peer support element is just as important:
“Dementia can be such a lonely illness. People come here and meet others who just get it -without having to explain every detail. That connection is vital.”
For Jo, the work is personal. Her father, who recently passed away, had dementia. She says seeing her mum benefit from the group brought home its impact.
The Memory Café in Fulbeck is just one of a growing network of hubs across Lincolnshire, which together have already supported more than 100,000 visits.