Why I love my job

"I love my job an AS support worker. It is a complete career change for me and so rewarding, hearing the feedback from my clients helps me realise that I am making a difference to their lives. Everything is appreciated and they have taken me in as a friend."

"I love going to art group with RY as it reminds me of my school days. I can tell stories of what I got up to in art class  - it makes everyone laugh and puts some of my talent to use! R is always saying she cannot do things but always manages to do a bit with me by her side. So I do like to think I can make a difference."

"I have been to many lovely places with RR. He’s always happy to walk in the country and look at the trees and is very happy in my company. S loves her trips out with me and we have some lovely conversations about queens, kings and historic buildings. We will be visiting an art gallery in Bath soon and I find it brings out the best in her. "

"G told me that her dad loved it when I walked in the room. His mood changed. We played Irish music and he would sometimes sing along to it." 

"Being welcomed into a family is by far the most rewarding part of it. Knowing that they trust me with their worries and issues and being to help and give advice when needed. This makes my job well worth it."

"Even though it is a job which I take seriously, it is very enjoyable. I have come to realise how individual everyone is, and how much of your ability to get pleasure out of life does not diminish with dementia."

"I find out what each individual enjoys doing or has done in the past and I encourage them to do it. I get great satisfaction from my role. I leave feeling like I have made a difference and I have lovely compliments from my people. Working for AS is so rewarding."

"I enjoy seeing the smiles on my clients’ faces when I arrive to see them."

"Being a support worker is great because you get to meet lots of lovely people that all welcome you into their lives, they become your new friends and it is a privilege to spend time with them.  You also get to meet their families as well which can be very interesting as everyone has different stories to tell."

We are the lucky ones

"The job is very rewarding and most clients love the time you give them and are very grateful for their visit. Although we are the lucky ones that get to spend time with them."

"Mrs G update.  We got her a replacement car yesterday.  We managed to find a car with a wheel chair lift at the rear and it only had 41000 miles on the clock. No more lifting him in and out of the car, which will make both of their lives much easier.  Mrs G is a very happy lady.  The last few days have not been good for the pair of them. That's why I like this job when you have helped people in a bad situation and with Alzheimer’s Support staff help have turned things around for them. "

"The memory diary with H was an achievement I felt he really participated as he can lose concentration after a while he loved telling me all his life stories and showing me family photos."

"I really feel that my role as support worker with Alzheimer’s Support hardly feels like work."

"I feel more confident within my role of a support worker and feel that I make a difference to my client’s lives. I have a client who I found quite difficult when I first started supporting them not wanting to talk or to go out. Over the months I have managed to get him to go out for a coffee on a regular basis. We have visited various garden centres, gone for walks, Music for the Mind, shopping and a picnic on Westbury White Horse."

"I have most enjoyed the sharing of jokes, the giggles from clients when I have shared my stories from home. One afternoon driving down the lanes at Holt I thought I would take a detour to Chalfield Manor with my client. As we drove nearer the rain started to pour and pour. We didn't need to get out of the car, we just enjoyed the gorgeous scenery of wet green fields and dripping trees, listening to Hollywood hits of the 1950's on the CD, my client loved to sing along.

"I think when we can all share laughter it makes life a little easier to live."