Local Care Home Receives Heartfelt Hugs From Local Community
A Guildford-based care home has been creative in providing residents with the love of a warm hug, whilst Covid-19 restrictions are still in place.
To celebrate National Art in Care Homes Day on 24th September, Puttenham Hill House Bupa Care Home, invited members of the local community to send in artwork of their hands to symbolise a comforting hug for the home’s residents.
The outside of the care home was decorated in the hands of the community, including hands from members of the local church’s, Puttenham Infant School and residents’ family, friends and staff. A total of 140 hands were donated, for everyone to enjoy.
The aim of the activity was to celebrate the importance of art and demonstrate its ability to enhance the health and wellbeing of both staff and residents at the home.
Since 2013, Puttenham Hill House has been visited by a Creative Minds group on a two-weekly basis, where local artists host arts and craft sessions for residents, teaching them how to express themselves by using different mediums and techniques.
Elsa Marlow, Activities Co-ordinator at Puttenham Hill House Bupa Care Home, said: “Our residents love getting creative and cherish their art sessions with the founder who used to visit the home, James Cropper and local artist, Sarah Fenner who took over the visits from Creative Minds in 2015. It was with Sarah’s help that we came up with the concept of replicating a hug through drawings of the hands of loved ones and the community.”
Beryl Kirwin, resident at the care home, commented: “I really enjoy the arts and craft sessions with boxes provided by Creative Minds even though they are not here to enjoy it with us, it still always puts a smile on my face. This week, it has been great to be part of National Art in Care Homes Day with Elsa and the staff.
Another resident said, “The one thing we all miss in these challenging times is human contact, but I feel this is one step closer to being able to hold my loved ones again.”
Rebecca Elliot, Home Manager at Puttenham Hill House Bupa Care Home, added: “Activities like this help us stay close to those around us. We are very grateful to everyone in the community who got involved in the art project. We are always looking for ways to stay connected, and it is incredibly heart-warming to see so many people coming together to share the love.”
