Shaving Santa helps Dementia HB

A re-bearded Colin Heyward with Chris Sawyers of Dementia Hawke's Bay.

Back on the last day of February, just before the Covid-19 shutdown came upon us, Waipawa resident Colin Heyward had his 47-year growth of beard shorn off by Central Hawke's Bay's alpaca shearing specialist Heather Dixon, in a public display at Waipukurau's "Green Patch".

That event finished off a month of fundraising by the Lion Masonic Lodge No 114 in Ormondville that resulted in more than $7000 being made available for Dementia Hawke's Bay.

Dementia, like depression, has been a taboo subject for many, and it needs to be brought into the open and be talked about. It is likely to affect most families in some way at some time.

Dementia Hawke's Bay operates two divisions: a community team and a day programme team.

The community team assists those who have been diagnosed with dementia, and their carers, to navigate the health system to obtain the help they need in a district that covers Wairoa to Central Hawke's Bay.

Those who meet the criteria are admitted into the day-care programme to give respite to the family members who care for them. There, the clients receive cognitive and physical stimulation in the social atmosphere of one of the two units that operate in Napier and Hastings.

Since the February fundraiser, the Lodge brethren have supplied two custom-made tables to these dementia units - an octagonal craft table for the Napier unit and a dining table for Hastings.

They have also bought specially designed chairs with safety arm support, and custom-made adjustable stands for mounting the computer screens used by clients in their therapy games.

The major purchase has been a top-of-the-range barbecue that will be used at the Hastings unit during the summer months to entertain clients and their caregivers.

The barbecue was presented to Melanie West and Chris Sawyers of Dementia Hawke's Bay.

The barbecue was presented to Chris Sawyers and Melanie West of Dementia Hawke's Bay at a luncheon hosted by the Lion Masonic Lodge at Takapau's Oruawharo Homestead on Sunday, September 27.

The table and stands were crafted by Stephen Jensen Cabinetmakers of Waipukurau. Promotional artwork was by PropArtGander Haumoana.