New Dementia Friendly Romsey singing group

At Home Instead Salisbury and Romsey, we’re dedicated to providing excellent care for our clients, but did you know that we do so much more than that? We’re also committed to being active and engaged in our community through our involvement with local groups and charities. Over the coming weeks we’ll be highlighting some of the groups that we’re involved with in a series of blog posts, so make sure to check back to find out what else we get up to!

One group we’re very excited about is our new singing group in Romsey, organised for people living with dementia and their carers. We’ve launched the group alongside our friends from ROMDAG (Romsey Dementia Action Group), who run weekly activities including quizzes, games, puzzles and singing.

We held the first singing session in January of this year and welcomed people from the area to come along, enjoy some refreshments and socialise, and join together in songs led by a local singer, Sarah Hobbs. It brought a smile to our faces to see the enthusiasm with which people joined in singing.

As Di Metters from ROMDAG said, “The singing group provides a supportive, friendly environment which is uplifting, enjoyable and hugely therapeutic. The benefits of singing have long been documented and research shows that singing alters the hormones that boost mood-state and the immune system. Singing also reduces stress, which is linked to so many health conditions, so it’s a pleasure to be able to bring so much joy to our local community”.

Jonathan Gapper, Managing Director of Home Instead Salisbury and Romsey, added: “It’s been 10 years since Romsey was made a dementia-friendly town, so it’s really apt that we have so much planned this year for those in our community with dementia, our singing group being the first these plans. The first session was a success with lots of lovely singing, it really hit the high notes!”

The weekly activities with ROMDAG take place from 11 AM until 1 PM at various locations in the Romsey area. The singing group is held at Dr Peter Centre, off Alma Road, Romsey on the 2nd Tuesday of every month. There is a suggested donation of £2.50 per person and refreshments are included. New faces are always welcome, so if you know someone who would benefit from the group, please do spread the word!