Activities play an important role in day-to-day life at St John’s House and the responsibility for devising and delivering them rests with our Activity Coordinator Danielle Smith.
Along with fellow Coordinator Jane, Danielle ensures our residents are being exercised in mind, body and soul, whether it’s keep-fit exercises, baking, crafts, reminiscence and much more.
It’s a job she thoroughly enjoys and is well suited for given her previous experience, including one job which absolutely requires you to be bubbly and outgoing.
Danielle explains: “I worked as a hairdresser as a stylist in a busy salon for three years so this is a job that definitely means you can’t be shy!”
After leaving hairdressing to have her son (she now has two children), when she ready to return to work Danielle needed a job with more flexibility, so this led her into care.
She worked in a care home which had a separate floor for people with advanced dementia and whilst caring for people with challenging needs is not for everyone, Danielle says she loved every minute of it.
“It wasn’t always easy given the advanced stage of dementia people had but I found it very rewarding,” she says.
“It was very important that you understood each individual care plan so you could tailor the care given to each resident and there were times of lucidity when they would remember something about themselves and their lives and these moments were very special.”
Danielle came to St John’s House in 2021 and took on the role of Activity Coordinator. She says whilst it is important that regular activities such as exercise take place, ultimately, she and Jane are led by the wishes of the residents.
“If they express a desire to do some baking then we will make this happen even it’s not on the timetable,” she explains.
“One of my personal favourite activities is reminiscence because it’s nice hearing about the residents’ lives and they like to hear from us about what things are like now so we can compare.
“There’s a real sense of community and friendship in the home and that makes it a lovely place in which to work.”
When she’s not devising and delivering activities, Danielle enjoys spending time with her family. She used to play football but has now become a football mum watching her son play as often as possible.
