Lightening the Load

18/06/2025

💟 Are you caring for someone with dementia or memory problems
💟 do you know someone who is socially isolated & experiencing loneliness
💟 our day club provides social interaction, cognitive stimulation & stimulating activities
💟 come for a taster session for free

17/06/2025

"When you become frustrated with older people because of what they cannot do, think of how frustrated they must feel because they can no longer do it."

It's easy to feel a surge of frustration when an older loved one struggles with tasks that once seemed simple for them.
Watching them grapple with technology, forgetful moments, or physical limitations can test our patience. However, in these moments, it's essential to remember that our frustration is but a shadow of what they must be experiencing internally.

In the grand tapestry of life, the roles we play often shift. Today, we may be the ones offering support; tomorrow, we might find ourselves in need of it.
By approaching our older loved ones with empathy, we honor their journey and enrich our own, creating a legacy of compassion that transcends generations. ❤☀

14/06/2025

🥰When we meet families for the first time, one of the first things we do is ask if they know about Attendance Allowance and if necessary, out of goodwill, we often signpost them to help or hands on guide them on how to apply!

Our older people deserve to have the means to help support them. They have lived long lives, put so much into society themselves over the years, worked hard, raised families, lived, loved, laughed.

😢Many older people live in a world of day to day hardship in terms of their health, loneliness, reduced mobility and so much more.

Please take a few minutes to watch this video:

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1KBHZrQycv/?mibextid=wwXIfr

10/06/2025

❤️🐶Did you know that our furry friends can bring about feelings of happiness, an improved sense of well-being, stimulate cognition, they can help reduce stress and anxiety, help make people feel loved, offer companionship, encourage physical activity, evoke memories - plus so much more!

🥰Most of our wonderful team
have dogs! With the permission of their families, it became a dog loving week when their four legged friends visited our customers.

On top of that one of our team went to a dog birthday party 🥳 this evening! It's all things 4 paws 🐾 this week!

Our customers have really enjoyed their time with our team's wonderful pooches! 🥰🐶

10/06/2025

Well-being Pooch Week at
Lightening the Load 🐶 ❤️🥰!

19/05/2025

Lightening the Load - we have some sessions become available to help support wellbeing and putting meaning and purpose back into the lives of older people. Please check out our page and/or website where you will be able to see our fantastic local reputation and excellent feedback from our customers. We do not offer personal care. However, we often fit around personal care services.

At Lightening the Load, we pride ourselves in providing tailor made support, building positive relationships, supporting cognitive stimulation, developing friendships - the same person comes at the same scheduled agreed time. Our team are experienced, skilled, professional, have empathy, emotional intelligence and can think on their feet. They are kind, loyal, trustworthy and always go over and above. Feel free to give us a call for a no obligation, friendly chat to see how we may be able to help.

15/04/2025

🥳A HUGE SHOUT OUT TO OUR WONDERFUL TEAM🥳!

😃Someone pretty high up in the provision of older people's services in the area has just virtually begged us to expand our service saying "there is nothing else out there like your service!" They went on to say:

"your service helps keep people out of hospital, it helps the mental health of your clients and their families, it gives families a rest. It's all about keeping people stimulated and active. It is so needed!"

🎵 It was absolute music to my ears to hear that someone so responsible for older people's' services gets it and gets what we are about.

🥰I've had to explain that we want to keep our business small because it is the tiny personal details that make us so unique!🥰

We are often described as that extra family member. What we do is all about having the customer at the centre of everything we do going over and above often!

🥳Well done to our amazing team - I cannot explain in words how gushing this person was about our service today!🥳

Fran and the Team ☺️

02/04/2025

🎉 CELEBRATION!🥳

❤️Today we are celebrating supporting our 65th customer! As with all our customers, we provide them and their families with a very, special unique, tailor made service to put meaning, purpose, companionship and friendship back into their lives!

🥰Our fabulous, skilled and experienced team of 8, have so much natural empathy and kindness for all of our customers. They have an amazing ability to build trust and long lasting relationships with our customers who do nothing but look forward to their visits!

☺️We have had this wonderful feedback today:

"We are so pleased you are a small business that can give the individual care and attention to our mum in the same way we would!"

We will always have the interests of your loved ones at the heart of everything we do! 🥰

If you would like more information about our very special service, please feel free to call or email for a no obligation, friendly chat:

Email: [email protected]

Or

Private message using the message icon above

Or Tel/Text: 0787 404 2416

Website: lighteningtheload.org.uk

26/03/2025

❤️Our wonderful team at Lightening the Load support our customers to grow older in the way they should be - with respect, with value, with time, with dignity, with a listening ear, with kindness, with compassion, with empathy, with understanding, with trust, with friendship.

🥰These special qualities create feelings of safety, reassurance and security for our customers. We pride ourselves in continuity of service and consistency.

No strangers turning up at anyone's door! Ever!

If you would like more information about our service, please feel free to contact us for an informal, friendly chat:

Tel: 0787 404 2416

Or

Please send a private message clicking the "Message" icon above

Or

Please email us at: [email protected]

Website: lighteningtheload.org.uk

Aging is not an affliction
It's not a disease we should cure
It isn't a foe or an enemy,
A battle we have to endure

It's not something we have to fight against
Despite what we might have been told
It's a gift that's denied to so many
Who would love to be here growing old

*****

Becky Hemsley 2022
Joyful artwork by Jonas Peterson

A little reminder for us all today.
From my fourth collection https://a.co/d/hoKxs0D

11/03/2025

❤️We had this lovely feedback from a daughter. Her dad is looking after her unwell mum. The daughter rang a few organisations to gather information about what support her dad could get:

"We have 'the meeting' with my dad this week. So that will be interesting I'm sure. I'm hopeful we may be able to start putting some plans together then. Do please stay in touch as I have to say you are far superior to all of the other companies I've checked out!"

My own dad would have been 95 yesterday! This was him in the photo,
on the left, in 1935!

He was fiercely independent and he found it hard to accept he needed companionship and support. Conversations have to be handled very carefully often to engage our older parents in taking on external support. It is far better when people can choose what support they want before a crisis hits - when this happens, people are then often forced to accept what help is given and choice can often be out of their hands!🥲

😍We wanted to be a different type of service to many out there! Often, we arrange with families to meet say a daughter/son first and then we can turn up to their older relative's house with them as a "family friend" for an initial visit. It makes the experience of having someone new coming into a house so much gentler and kinder. We never rush gradually getting to know someone. Building trust and friendship is everything!

🥰We never send strangers to deliver our sessions. We take 2/3/4 weeks, as long as it takes, to ensure our customers and there families are happy before we schedule in regular visits. We ALWAYS turn up on time and we pride ourselves in providing consistency and continuity.

🥲It is very scary having strangers visit your your house when you are vulnerable. It happens too often with some services and can be very traumatic.

🥰❤️We are unique and pride ourselves in that!

If you would like to chat about how we may be able to support you or a family member, please feel free to contact us:

Tel/Text: 0797 404 2416

Email: [email protected]

Private Message: please click the message icon at the top of this page

Website: lighteningtheload.org.uk

10/03/2025

❤️Here are some of the wonderful things our customers have been doing with us this week to help fill their days with some purpose and meaning!

In addition to these photos, the sunshine ☀️ has meant:

* Visits to cafes and garden centres too last week which always bring a cuppa and a cake stop too! ☕️ 🍰 😋

*Sitting out in the garden and spotting, flowers birds and 🦋 butterflies!

*A visit from Brian the WestiePoo to a customer who used to have a dog of their own! 🐾 🐶

We also regularly support some of our customers to ensure they do their daily seated exercises!🕺

🌺☀️We help our customers choose activities themselves, support them to do the activities and whilst doing them we weave in reminiscence, help them to maintain skills such as weighing out ingredients as well as learn new skills.

We encourage decision making and supporting our customers to find solutions during their activities.

All of this helps keep the brain active, encourages mobility and most of all gives companionship, friendship and encourages positive mental and physical wellbeing!🥰

04/03/2025

☀️🌺We have just spent a lovely 2 hour session with one of our customers who has Alzheimer's. Twice per week, we cover the customer's live-in carer so that they can have some time out.

🥰We spend much time finding that hook that engages each customer completely tailor made to their interests or past interests.

🌷Today, this customer used to do photography, love holidays in Wales, walking in nature and loved doing the garden. Sadly, they can no longer do what they used to. Seeing the flowers and bees sparked memories and conversation about photography and Welsh walking holidays for the customer. ❤️

They were so engaged in showing me which nature photos I could take today! ☀️ 🐝 🌺 The customer was so pleased with the images! 🥰

❤️It was such a lovely session!

If you would like to know a bit more about the fabulous unique team we have and the tailor made services we provide for your older family members, please feel free to contact us for an informal, friendly chat:

Tel/Text: 0787 404 2416

Email: [email protected]

Website: lighteningtheload.org.uk