The Importance of a Community in a Residential Care Home

The percentage of older adults living in care homes has risen to 40% when it comes to experiencing loneliness and isolation. That’s why its essential for care homes to highlight the need for social activities within their homes. 

In this blog post, we will look into the importance of a community within a care home though social activities, both inside as well as outdoor spaces, alongside our supportive carers and how it can all have a positive impact on the residents' well being and quality of life.

When elderly people are removed from social interactions on a regular occurrence, it’s likely they will feel emotions of anxiety, sadness and even depression, leading to having negative effects on their emotional and mental health.

A lot of care homes will promote social activities and group outings both for the residents well being as well as giving them the opportunity to build meaningful connections with one another. This will help reduce those feelings of loneliness as well as creating a supportive group amongst each other, allowing residents to open up in sharing experiences, build friendships and engage in stimulating conversations. This all allows residents to feel welcomed and belonged, they feel part of the community which therefore enhances their happiness.

Lets take a closer look…

Reducing Loneliness and Isolation

When it comes to fostering a community within the care home, reducing isolation and loneliness is a critical aspect of this. Social activities play a huge role in this, especially when it comes to creating connections with residents and therefore helping them move away from feelings of isolation and loneliness. All residents in residential care homes are never forced to take part in any activities they don’t want to, yet by engaging in group activities such as movie nights in the homes cinema, game nights, arts and craft sessions and being outside in our beautiful gardens, soaking up some vitamin D giving each resident the opportunity to interact with each other as well as generally boosting their mental and physical health. When individuals feel connected to one another, they will most likely end up having more of a positive outlook on life, enjoying a higher quality of life.

Every care home will stand by the fact that it’s so important for meaningful connections to be built. Having our residents get involved and engaged in social activities allows them to meet new people, like minded, who have similar interests and backgrounds. Individuals can interact beyond surface level interactions through shared experiences and conversations during these activities. These connections will then create an environment where everyone feels supported, understood and valued by their peers, especially as they build further on their friendships through common interests and shared goals.

Building Meaningful Connections

As we’ve briefly touched on, promoting meaningful connections is key to cultivating an engaged and vibrant atmosphere within a care home. Residential care homes will encourage residents to interact with each other, forming relationships and therefore creating a sense of community that highlights each residents mental health. These meaningful connections offer opportunities for support, companionship and socialisation, in total reducing feelings of isolation and loneliness. Activities or even simple conversations during meal times can bring these connections together, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere within the care home. Building relationships and engaging in different conversations stimulates the brain, keeping it sharp and active, therefore having a positive impact on emotional health and cognitive function. Overall it provides a chance for residents to share experiences, stories and wisdom, or simply enjoying each others company. 

All of these social interactions will help reduce feelings of anxiety or depression and by promoting these meaningful connections, care homes are not only advocating for mental and emotional health but also creating a supportive and engaging network, where everyone feels valued. 

Enhancing Mental and Emotional Health

Building relationships and engaging in social activities with other residents can have a huge impact on your overall happiness. Taking the moment to reflect on the power of meaningful connections enhance mental and emotional well being within the care home. By getting involved in group activities like music sessions, being in sensory rooms or games will stimulate residents minds alongside creating that supportive network, fostering emotional support and understandings.  

All these interactions provide opportunities for shared experiences, mutual encouragement and lots of laughter, which contributes to a positive mindset. Likewise, feeling connected to others who are going through similar experiences can reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness, which in turn, leads to an improved mental health for all residents. Additionally, establishing strong friendships where residents share stories and offer advice find comfort knowing they’re not alone within their journey. 

Promoting a Sense of Belonging

In many care homes, social events play a big part in promoting a sense of belonging among residents. By getting involved in group events and activities residents bond with each other as well as staff members and these shared experiences can then foster a sense of community. This all has multiple benefits on their mental well being.

Research shows that when individuals have strong social connections, they experience lower levels of anxiety and depression. As we’re aware, when you feel connected to others, it promotes better overall life satisfaction and cognitive functions and as relationships develop fighter, residents will gain more emotional support from each other, providing comfort during distressing times. 

Impact on Quality of Life

Being part of a community, provides companionship, impacting a resident’s quality of life. All activities residents get involved in within their community helps maintain cognitive function, reduce feelings of loneliness or isolation, improve moods and overall, increase happiness. Alongside all of this, residents’ self esteem and confidence will improve. Additionally, when individuals feel more valued by their peers, they feel like they can contribute more to their community, experiencing a greater sense of fulfilment and purpose.

It’s important for all care homes to prioritise creating an environment and atmosphere where social interaction is encouraged, pushing that community feel amongst its residents. 

How Boclair Care Home Can Help Your Loved One

Boclair Care Home provides outstanding residential care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the beautiful town of Bearsden. Delivered in a luxurious purpose built home, this type of person centred care is designed to support residents who require additional help with personal care, day to day activities and wanting to enjoy the companionship of one another. Our warm, welcoming care home provides all our residents with a luxurious and inviting environment alongside receiving quality care by our trained professionals.

We encourage residents to settle into their new home, going about their lives as normal, all whilst taking advantage of the many services, facilities and amenities we have available within our home. Our dedicated and compassionate team are available 24 hours a day, encouraging residents to live independently with as much or as little help and assistance as they need. Every single one of our team members go above and beyond for our residents, ensuring their stay is as enjoyable as possible from the minute they walk through our doors.

Our approach to residential care places an emphasis on entire health and well being as well as caring for any mental needs. We strive to change the lives of our residents (in a positive way), we encourage their abilities through daily activities and communities, promoting a supportive environment for all. When you step foot into our care home, you will spot many moments of joy, everyone is happy and smiley, both residents and staff. Our main aim is to offer a comfortable and loving setting where everyone is content, able to pursue their hobbies all whilst living a happy and enriched life. Our residents benefit highly from the advantages of shared living, they’re free from any household management stress or personal worries; our residents are apart of our local community and we see them gain confidence and independence whist improving their health and living a busy social life.

If you’d like to enquire further into our wonderful care home and how we can help you or your loved one, please do get in contact with one of our staff members today.