Pictured: Dementia Jersey’s new HQ will be open from next Tuesday at the former Jersey Mutual premises.
Explaining the need to move from their current space in Old Street, CEO Claudine Snape said: “We’ve grown a lot as a charity over the last three years and we’ve grown from having around six staff to now having 20.
“As a result of that growth, we’ve increased our programme, our service offer, so we’re supporting more people.
“We needed a bigger office, not least for the staff to all have desks. We were also finding that having a single room to do all of our counselling and dementia advice and meetings from just wasn’t practical.”
Finding “a needle in a haystack”
She continued: “We were looking for something that was accessible, that had enough space for us to have 20 desks, to have storage, facilities for staff like a kitchen, the requisite number of meeting rooms and a decent area for reception.
“All of that on a ground floor with decent nearby parking in an area with high footfall – it was like finding a needle in a haystack.”
She added that the new office had required a substantial refit of the former Jersey Mutual building.
The “dementia-friendly” specifications encompass accessible spaces for clients, wide corridors, non-slip floors, a design with contrasting colours as well as distinct entrances and clear signage.
A “milestone” moment
The project was funded through part of Dementia Jersey’s reserves, designated for property.
Pictured: Dementia Jersey CEO Claudine Snape described the move as a “milestone” moment for the charity.
“We’ve been doing a lot of awareness raising and building our brand, so we’ve had more corporate support and we’ve also been going for more grants,” added Ms Snape.
“This is a bit of milestone for us as a charity, it recognises how far we’ve come and its also going to be a central office in the middle of town with very distinct branding outside so it offers us good visibility.
“We really want to challenge that stigma around dementia, we don’t want people to feel ashamed about having to come here.
“We are trying to cultivate a supportive environment for people.”