About us

Our charity was born out of shared personal experiences looking after loved ones with dementia at home, and our mission is to help others to do the same.

We came together in 2007 to form Hope for Home as a group of people who were at that time looking after loved ones at home or had previously done so.

We had found that there was generally there was very little support for family carers who find themselves in the heartbreaking situation of looking after a loved one.

Our Patrons, Trustees, staff and volunteers are a group of people with a common experience and a shared vision.

At the root of our vision is an acknowledgement that every individual has unique needs, wishes and an interpretation of the world.

Each individual has the right to have this uniqueness recognised and to be treated with dignity and respect at all times.

People with dementia and/or advanced Parkinson’s Disease often have this right ignored and they and their carers are given little or no option about treatment choices or about how, or where they wish to be cared for.

Hope for Home passionately defends and supports the right of such people to be cared for and remain in their own homes, and we offer help based on our values.

Our people

Hope for Home is supported by a team of great Patrons, Trustees, staff and volunteers.

Patrons

Jacquie Dankworth

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Hope for Home is very privileged to have the world famous jazz singer and composer, Jacqui Dankworth, as a Patron. Jacqui is currently undertaking a UK tour and recently performed at the Blackheath Concert Halls, which are local to our base. Jacquie writes: ‘My aunt was a gifted, inspirational and very accomplished classical musician. In addition to performing music, she also taught music teachers how to teach music well. In her latter years she suffered from Alzheimer's Disease, and so I have some direct understanding of how the person themself, their families and friends can be affected by dementia. I am delighted to support the pioneering projects that Hope for Home is leading, and I am very enthusiastic about promoting its work.’

Professor Joyce Simard

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Hope for Home is delighted that Joyce Simard has kindly agreed to be a Patron. Professor Simard has developed and pioneered the Namaste approach for people with dementia across the world for many years. She developed Namaste Care when she realised that people with advanced dementia were excluded from typical activity programmes offered in care homes. She introduced and pioneered this approach throughout the USA, Australia and next year Namaste Care will be implemented in the Netherlands. She believes that people with an advanced dementia can live not just exist throughout the disease process. This programme is based on ‘the power of loving touch’ and carers use hand massage, gentle combing of a person’s hair and offering special treats helps ensure quality of life until the end of life. Namaste Carers also bring the outside inside with bits of nature such as wild flowers in the spring, colourful leaves in the autumn and perhaps a snowball in the winter. These items bring back fond memories of the past.

Trustees

Sarah Burnard

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Sarah has over 35 years experience of working both in and alongside the National Health Service, first as a physiotherapist specialising in care of elderly people at home, and then as a senior general manager. She also is qualified to teach adults. Sarah has worked in many multi-agency settings, with both clinicians and managers, and this work has included working with Social Services, the voluntary sector and the Police. Sarah also has extensive experience in developing public health policy.

Lourdes Colclough

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Lourdes has an extensive background in Community Development and Social Enterprise. With a background in psychology, Lourdes was the first Namaste Manager for our funded project in Newham, developing this project as a world first, from scratch and bringing it into the mainstream. Lourdes currently works for Macmillan as their Engagement Manager for London.

Professor Harriet Gross

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Harriet is a psychologist and is currently working as Director of Innovative Special Projects at the University of Lincoln, where until 2013 she was Head of the School of Psychology. She has recently (2006–10) been Chair of the British Psychological Society (BPS) Parliamentary and Policy Group, and at present is Associate Editor of the BPS magazine ‘The Psychologist’.

Dr Adrian Treloar

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Adrian is a Consultant in Old Age Psychiatry at Oxleas NHS Trust and a visiting Senior lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry, London. In addition to being director of Medical Education for Oxleas NHSF Trust from 1999 to 2007, he produced research and helped to write national guidance on the ethics of Covert Administration of medicines. He has developed considerable expertise in the management of dementia through until death at home, and has lectured nationally and internationally on the palliative care of Dementia, as well as delirium and the management of Parkinson’s disease. He has pioneered “hope for home” type dementia care, supporting several dozen patients with dementia at home until their death, and both researched and developed understanding of how this can be achieved. He is also actively researching delirium and also the use of memantine in dementia.

Jennie Hurley

Jennifer Hurley retired recently after a forty-year career in nursing. She was the first Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Accident and Emergency at University College Hospital. Jennie worked for the second part of her career in Primary Care with an Advanced Diploma in Chronic Disease Management. Most of her work involved the management and monitoring of patients with long term medical conditions, and monitoring of people aged 65 and over, including assessment at home for people with dementia and their family carers. She also worked with colleagues on initial cognitive assessment and referral to memory services. She was the elected nurse representative on the governing body of the Islington Clinical Commissioning Group with clinical lead responsibility for Last Years of Life Care and Learning Disability and Autism. As one of the early Nurse Prescribers, she also chaired the Non-Medical Prescribers’ Forum and was a member of the Medicines Optimisation Committee. She has a special interest in care of people with dementia in their family home.

Linda McEnhill

Linda McEnhill is CEO of Ardgowan Hospice in Greenock. Linda has worked in palliative and bereavement care for the past 26 yrs as a practitioner (social worker and counsellor), manager, lecturer and latterly, prior to coming to Ardgowan, as a director. She has worked for a number of national charities, local hospices and the NHS, both in Scotland and England. Linda’s passion is to see equitable palliative care, this led her in 1998 to establish, with others, the National Network for Palliative Care of People with Learning Disabilities which aims to raise awareness of the palliative care needs of people with learning disabilities and to share and promote best practice. This work was recognised when she was awarded the first Hambro-Macmillan Associate Fellowship in 2003. In 2008, when she stepped down as Chair of the Network, an award was created in her name to recognise organisations and individuals who have made a significant difference to the end of life care of people with learning disabilities. Linda first encountered Hope for Home (HfH) when she became involved in its work on hospice enabled dementia care. Having experienced her father’s decline and death due to dementia she deeply impressed by HfH’s care for people with dementia at the end of life and was honoured to be asked to become a trustee.
Linda has published a number of articles and book chapters on the issues of dying and bereavement as it affects people with a learning disability, on equitable access to palliative care, and on spirituality.

Our values

Hope for Home is an independent organisation not influenced by any political, religious or commercial interest. We have our own values.

Respect for everyone

Hope for Home deals with:
  • people with dementia and/or advanced Parkinson’s Disease and their carers
  • health and social care practitioners
  • other associated charities
  • the general public

Commitment to quality

Commitment to maintaining and improving the quality of home care available to people with dementia and their carers by influencing the practice of medical and health and social care practitioners.

Ensuring the quality of support and advice provided by Hope for Home by training staff and developing codes of conduct and protocols in partnership with Hope for Home service users.

Integrity

Hope for Home will be honest about what support and advice we are able to provide and always signpost people to other agencies where necessary.

Hope for Home considers that each individual with dementia is uniquely worthwhile and special, requiring the best care and support.

We aim to support those who wish to continue living at home with friends and family, and we wish to promote knowledge, best practice and to support others in developing expertise.

We will always try to be honest and impartial, giving advice that is best for that individual while accepting that sometimes this advice cannot be carried out by carers and families.

Commitment to the principles of equality and diversity

For Hope for Home equality and diversity are integral to the organisation.

Our Trustees come from backgrounds of varied and differing faiths and beliefs and Hope for Home has a working culture that recognises, respects and values those differences, harnessing them for the benefit of the organisation.

Hope for Home will defend the equal opportunities of people with dementia and/or advanced Parkinson’s Disease to have the choice to receive care in their own homes or hospice-type care where this is more appropriate

In addition, we seek to advise people regardless of their race, creed, or colour.

We will not tolerate bullying, abuse or bad practice or any other form of discrimination.

Annual reports

As a charitable company registered both at Companies House and with the Charity Commission we make returns and submit accounts on an annual basis to both Companies House and the Charity Commission, and we must also comply with both charity and company law.
Click on the links below to read our annual reports:

2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011