A massive thank you for supporting the L.I.F.T. launch!
We are overwhelmed by the support we received at Monday’s launch of our new and exciting L.I.F.T. project. A massive thank you to everyone who came along and helped make the day so special including our amazing staff and colleagues.
It was wonderful to bring people together to celebrate the new service, share ideas and hear about the difference accessible, supportive transport can make. Thank you especially to all the organisations and groups who hosted information stands, shared their expertise and took time to speak with those attending.
Introducing L.I.F.T.
L.I.F.T. stands for Local Inclusive Friendly Transport. It is DART’s new dementia-specific community transport service across the Southern Health and Social Care Trust area, free for the person using it.
L.I.F.T. has been made possible thanks to funding from The National Lottery Community Fund. We are incredibly grateful for their support and for believing in the importance of this project.
The idea began when our drivers noticed that some of our long-term passengers were experiencing changes and might need additional support. We didn’t want a dementia diagnosis, or changing needs as dementia progresses, to mean losing access to familiar places, activities and people.
Through conversations with people living with dementia, their families and carers, and professionals across dementia and community services, we have developed a service to help people stay connected. Whether it is attending an appointment, going to a group or activity, or simply getting out and about, L.I.F.T. aims to make those journeys comfortable and welcoming.
Support that starts before the journey
Before a passenger’s first journey, we will speak with them, or their family or carer, to understand their individual needs, routines and preferences.
Our new, fully accessible electric minibus also includes a Comfort and Conversation Box, developed with advice from Dementia UK. It contains items such as fidget blankets, puzzles, books from different eras and music. Everyone’s experience of dementia is different, so we will continue adding to the box as we learn what our passengers enjoy and what helps them feel at ease.
Volunteer befrienders will travel alongside passengers, offering a friendly face, conversation and reassurance. Dementia UK will provide training for our drivers and volunteers, and we are delighted to welcome Steph, our new L.I.F.T. driver, to the DART team.
Thank you to everyone who made the launch possible
First and foremost, we would like to extend a huge thank you to The National Lottery Community Fund for funding L.I.F.T. Their support has enabled us to turn this idea into a new service that will help people living with dementia remain connected to their communities, activities and the people who matter to them. We are extremely grateful for their investment in L.I.F.T. and in the people and communities it will support.
We would also like to thank John Sanders and the Training2Care team for joining us and bringing their Virtual Reality Training Bus. A special thank you also goes to Debbie Smith, who coordinated the Virtual Reality sessions and helped everything run smoothly.
Thank you to Simon Quinn from the Dementia Café for sharing the support and connections the café offers, and to Ronnie Dean, Ambassador for Dementia UK, for her video message.
We are grateful to Maria Treacy, a member of DART’s Board of Directors, for reading the letters shared by families of previous DART passengers. Thank you to those families for giving us such a personal insight into the difference regular, reliable transport can make.
Thank you also to Dementia UK for their advice and support, to Trade Signs for their remarkable work on the minibus design, and to everyone whose experiences, suggestions and hard work have helped shape L.I.F.T.
To our guests, stallholders, volunteers, staff and supporters: your encouragement meant so much to us. Thank you, too, to everyone who shared feedback at the launch. Your views will help us as the service develops. Official photos coming soon so we will keep you updated!!
Find out more or get involved
If you would like to learn more about L.I.F.T., discuss the service or become a volunteer befriender, we would love to hear from you. If you enjoy a good chat and helping people feel welcome, this could be a rewarding role for you. Training and support will be provided.
Website: dartpartnership.co.uk Email: info@dartpartnership.co.uk Telephone: 028 38317810
Thank you again for making Monday’s launch such a memorable occasion. We’re delighted to be starting this journey with you – and once again, our heartfelt thanks to The National Lottery Community Fund for helping make L.I.F.T. possible.
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