What we’ve built on

This work builds on more than two years of collaboration between Hearts and Minds and Crossgates Care Home, Kilmarnock, as part of the Kinections project which explored strengthening community in care homes.

This work delved into how elements of Hearts and Minds Elderflowers (professional arts practitioners who are trained to work with people living with dementia) approach could be integrated into day-to-day interactions between staff and residents in care homes. This work highlighted that throughout a persons’ journey with dementia there are treasures – moments in relationships in which people feel connected – to be found. A key output of this collaboration was a resource which offers ideas for enhancing connection and fun in care homes, based around the notion of creating places and spaces where people come together to connect, express emotion, use their imagination and try things out.

Treasure is a new project which acknowledges the multiple and significant losses experienced by people living with advanced dementia, as well as their family and friends, whilst also ascertaining that connection is possible. This work focuses on ways of noticing, seeking out and discovering gems – the retained strengths and qualities that people with advanced dementia offer – so we can continue to find riches within each person, and the treasure that can be experienced when people feel connected.