If you’ve visited our homes recently you’ll have no doubt seen our Activity Lifestyle Facilitators, lovingly called ALFs, in action! In early 2017 we appointed an ALF in every home. Their job? To help enrich the social life of the residents.
ALFs are like social butterflies and event managers all rolled into one. They really get to know each resident to ensure everyone can experience enjoyable moments every day. That may be as simple as dropping off a resident’s favourite newspaper each morning or joining another for a regular afternoon stroll in the garden or to the local shop. ALFs love planning parties and events – including our brilliant annual Pride partiesthat celebrate all things LGBTQ+!
Finding out about a resident’s character, interests and life story is the basis of good communication and part of the ALFs role is to develop meaningful environments around a home to stimulate interaction, encourage eating or help direction.
They might take tea in a retro cafe, visit a village store or shop in a market place or old fashioned sweet shop. There are pubs with classic tankards, ladies’ hairdressing salons, dining rooms with market scenes, bus stops, library corners and corridors lined with royalty or celebrity favourites. Anything and everything to add a bit of colour to everyday life.
Time to join in
Getting everyone involved including family and friends in projects, events and day-to-day activities, is also important. Visitors sometimes tell us it’s hard to find something to talk about or do with their relative. Prompting long term memories with tools such as memory boxes or nostalgia can often bring about stories to share and ALFs can help visitors enjoy spending time with their loved one.
Responsible for the daily, weekly and monthly activity calendar, ALFs also plan trips out, alongside exercise sessions, music, dancing, crafts and more. For those who love animals, we have regular Pet Therapy sessions and there’s always plenty of entertainment from professional singers, magicians and musicians. Keeping residents busy and engaged in their favourite pastimes is a priority for our ALFs. They are such an important part of our residents’ lives. But, don’t just take our word for it!