“I love coming here. I have had lots of happy times here with everyone,” according to Padraig Boland, member of the Harbour Friends Programme in South Dublin. “It’s one of the highlights of my week.”

The Harbour Friends Programme was developed by Catherine Daly and Gillian Dullea, Senior Occupational Therapists, HSE Primary Care, Dublin South and Wicklow, to help support people affected by Younger Onset Dementia live well. Catherine explains how “the Programme came about two years ago. It started with a conversation that Gillian and I had. On both our caseloads we had a number of people who were affected by younger onset dementia. What they were telling us was that they wanted to be together, and they wanted to gain that peer support from sitting with somebody else who was also affected.”

Gillian continues:

“We designed a two-hour programme for six weeks. One of the main things that we wanted was a social component so that people can come in and have a chat over a cup of tea or coffee, and just kind of get to know each other in a relaxed setting. Indeed, one of the more significant things that came out of the co-creation process was that people wanted information on brain health. So we explored different activities through our time here and just advised them on what they could be doing at home, or how they could adapt things to suit their needs.”

The Harbour Friends Programme is part of the Memory Harbour in Clonskeagh, which in turn is part of a national network of 24 HSE Memory Technology Resource Rooms (MTRRs) across the country providing Occupational Therapy Services to people affected by memory issues and dementia.

Highlighting another important aspect of the programme, Gillian outlines how “the people who come in here have families, partners and friends – all supporting them. So one of our main roles as occupational therapists would be to link back in with that network.”

Family members have also attested to the value of the programme. Michele Cannon, whose husband Vincent attends the Harbour Friends Programme, explains that “because Vincent was so young when he got it - he was 60 - he wanted to find somewhere he could go and be with others within his own age group and with whom he was comfortable. So, for us, this is like a lifeline.”

Shauna Kavanagh, whose mother Deirdre also attends, agrees: “I think the Harbour Friends Programme is the first place that Mum met other people who are living with Younger Onset Dementia. And having the right support in place, you know, it really makes a difference in my mum’s life and my life.”

Service users were involved in designing the programme and their feedback was very important. David Finucane, service user, notes how after having been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease, he was “initially anxious coming here, but everyone has such a positive attitude. Not only that, they are obviously very caring people.”

The programme is sponsored by HSE Health and Wellbeing, Dublin South and Wicklow. According to Frances Joyce, Health Promotion and Improvement Officer, they were “delighted to be involved in the project. This collaboration at Memory Harbour has meant that we’ve added value to the services and the community for those who have younger onset dementia and their families.”

Watch the Harbour Friends Programme participants on YouTube

Find more information about Memory Technology Resource Rooms