Our Collaborations
Our charity’s growth over the year is thanks to our collaborations with different organisations and projects. We are passionate about building new connections and rooting ourselves within the Ayrshire community. Working alongside other organisations and charities that hold similar core values to ours maximises our outreach to people affected by dementia.
Centre Stage
We make monthly visits to the Monday Men group who gather at Centre Stage every week. These visits have seen some of our biggest classes to date, sometimes with as many as 17 participants. Other activities include music quizzes, exercise sessions and music therapy.
We have also begun ASN classes for both adults and children in this location, using our same structured approach and confidence-building encouragement.
Care Homes
Art in A Suitcase carry out almost 30 visits a month, and the majority of these visits are to Care and Nursing Homes. With more being added as our team grow and capacity increases, we reach out to South, East and most recently North Ayrshire. External visits into care homes are vital for the wellbeing of residents, particularly those who are unable to leave the home or those who don’t get regular visitors. Establishments in lower income areas often have minimal budgets for activities so we bring our service to them.
Alzheimer Scotland
We make monthly visits to the Alzheimer’s Scotland Community hub in Kilmarnock where we meet people in all stages of dementia along with carers and family members. Some of our regulars have been with us since our online COVID classes! Because of the addition of family members taking part in these sessions, we see classes of 12-16 people on average. Thanks to our relationship with Alzheimer’s Scotland we are regularly presented with new networking opportunities, which has been invaluable to our growth.
NHS
NHS We work with NHS Cognitive Stimulation Groups in Troon and Ayr delivering regular sessions during their social groups. We also take part in 8 week block programmes throughout the year, run by The Carers and Wellbeing team. These classes allow carers and spouses of those living with dementia to partake in activities to enhance wellbeing and also allow important respite time.
Woodland View Hospital
In Autumn 2024 we were delighted to partner with Woodland View Community Hospital in Irvine. Patients in the Dementia Wards 3 & 4 needed recreational activities for stimulation and wellbeing. We now visit these wards weekly and love to see all the artwork on display in the wards. We also enjoyed being a part of a themed Christmas class for family members and friends to join in. It is heartwarming to hear such positive feedback about our work from key staff members, and a privilege to partner with such a dedicated team in the NHS.
Whiteford House
Whiteford House in Ayr is a supported living home that caters for adults under 65 with a range of impairments, including mental health, learning disabilities and alcohol-related brain injuries. Along with supporting independence and rehabilitation, learning new skills and enjoying creative activities are also essential for the wellbeing of residents. This is where we came in. We were confident that applying our structured, nurturing approach would yield the same benefits to a wider mix of abilities, and we are delighted to say it does! These classes are typically smaller as more one-to-one support is needed.
Dementia Friendly Prestwick
Our monthly sessions at DFP (RAFA club) are always filled with laughter and good times, as you can see by the video! Each session is incorporated to the activities of the day, creating a theme.