Highly creative

You need to be highly creative to be an Activities Coordinator in a care home due to the different needs/wishes of the people living in the home.

So, when it came to choosing someone to perform this key role at Glenburnie Lodge, we looked no further than Reka Roberts.

Reka has worked in care home activities for ten years, but she also comes from a very creative arts background.

That’s because Reka is also a documentary filmmaker and artist who has had her work exhibited publicly at exhibitions and film festivals.

Reka actually combined her two loves – film and care home activities – to make a documentary which followed the lives of three people living with dementia in her previous care home.

And now she is bringing her experience to bear for the ladies and gentlemen living at Glenburnie Lodge.

Like her artwork, Reka had a blank canvas to build from as she joined us before anyone had moved into the home.

“That was very different, but it enabled me to be a part of the work to get the home ready for opening, which was very exciting,” she says.

“And then, when the ladies and gentlemen started moving in it gave me time to really get to know them which has really helped with the planning of activities.

“When each new resident comes in, I spend time conducting life interviews with them and this is where my other skills really help me.”

Reka says it was a personal family bereavement that led her to a career in activities.

“It was the right job for me personally at that upsetting time and it really helped to heal me,” she explains.

“It took my mind off my grief and I couldn’t wait to get to work – it was the best thing I could have done.”

Reka says she is enjoying her time at Glenburnie Lodge and with the home rapidly filling up, she is finding herself very busy.

“It’s easily the most beautiful home I have worked in and I am really enjoying being able to put my own stamp on the role,” she adds.

“It’s more than just a job to me and I couldn’t be happier here.”

Outside of work, Reka continues to pursue her interest in film/documentaries and the arts in general.