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Bury St Edmunds charity Gatehouse teams up with Jane Bennett Care Services to provide social sessions for dementia sufferers




A Bury St Edmunds charity has teamed up with a domiciliary care provider to offer group social sessions to dementia sufferers.

Gatehouse, based in Dettingen Way, offers homestore, foodbank and community wellbeing services, and has offered up its premises to Jane Bennett Care Services to put on the ‘Time Out’ sessions.

The sessions were started by Jane Bennett in August 2018 as a way of offering respite to people over 65 suffering from early onset dementia.

Amanda Bloomfield, chief executive of Gatehouse. Picture: Penny Morgan.
Amanda Bloomfield, chief executive of Gatehouse. Picture: Penny Morgan.

It comes after Gatehouse had to stop its dementia support in March 2020 due to coronavirus.

Amanda Bloomfield, chief executive of Gatehouse, said: “Since Covid-19, it has never been more essential for co-production across all sectors to continue to be sustainable and to help the growing demand of service users, with ever increasing complex needs.”

The sessions will be held monthly and also offer family carers any advice they might need.

Gatehouse Christmas dinner preparations at St Benedicts School on Christmas Eve. Picture: Mecha Morton.
Gatehouse Christmas dinner preparations at St Benedicts School on Christmas Eve. Picture: Mecha Morton.

Jane said her and her team felt ‘incredibly privileged’ to be working alongside Gatehouse.

It comes after Gatehouse held its annual Christmas lunch at St Benedict’s School, in Bury, on Saturday.

The lunch is put on for, among others, elderly people, those who may have suffered a bereavement and the homeless.

Amanda said: “It was really good. Everyone was in the Christmas spirit.

The Gatehouse Christmas Day lunch. Picture: Amanda Bloomfield.
The Gatehouse Christmas Day lunch. Picture: Amanda Bloomfield.

"We had it slightly smaller, which reduced volunteers, to make sure we were Covid safe. We served around 95 dinners. Everyone felt welcome.”

Amanda added: “It was really heart-warming to see the community pull together to make the event happen again in what has been a really tough year.

“And not knowing whether it was going to happen or not going to happen, and leaving the organisation to the last couple of days.”

Gatehouse Christmas dinner preparations at St Benedicts School on Christmas Eve. Picture: Mecha Morton.
Gatehouse Christmas dinner preparations at St Benedicts School on Christmas Eve. Picture: Mecha Morton.

Guests at the lunch all joined in singing carols and gifts were also handed out.

The Christmas lunches have been running for around 35 years.

Last year was the first time a lunch was ever cancelled after it was decided the event would not be coronavirus-safe.