Buddy for people living at home with dementia

As a buddy, would you like to engage with someone with dementia and provide a fun day? Do you enjoy putting a smile on someone's face? Then join Odensemaatjes!
Odensemaatjes volunteers visit people living at home with dementia. They look at the wishes and needs of the participants and their informal carers, and so find out what activities would suit them. Both Frisian and non-Frisian buddies are welcome, so that participants from all backgrounds can be offered recognition.
Odensemaatjes works with the participant's social network by involving them and keeping them informed.

Odensemaatjes' mission is to work with people with dementia and their stakeholders to make life a little more fun and easier. The goals involved are:

• Improving the quality of life of people with dementia and their informal carers.
• Unburdening informal carers by taking over certain tasks (partially).
• Build a trusting relationship with the participant so that they feel safe to be vulnerable.

Can you see yourself having a cup of tea, playing a game or having a nice chat with someone with dementia? Then get in touch with Odensemaatjes!

As a buddy, you experience what it is like to be of great value in someone's life, participants look forward to your visit and are glad you are their buddy. When matching participants to buddies, the preferences and interests of both parties are taken into account.
Guidance is available from Odensemaatjes, ready to answer any questions. Travel expenses to and from the participant are also available. In consultation, it is possible to sign a volunteer contract.
If there is a need, training or courses can be organised on specific topics.
Being a buddy is ideal for personal development, you do something for another person and thus commit yourself to society.

For a buddy, it is important that you are empathetic, and enjoy making contact with someone. You are supportive towards the participant, but do not fulfil a caregiver role.
For the participant, it is nice if you want to do an activity that matches their interests, but it is also very nice if you come up with something that fits well with your own interests, so that the participant can try something new.