$1m activity centre’s warm welcome
"We've got a fantastic chef." Sandra Rowe
For those who struggle to get out and about on their own, visits to New Plymouth’s ASCOT Community House are the highlight of the week.
The Activity & Social Centre of Tainui (ASCOT) building, which cost around $1million to build and is run by the Tainui Home Trust Board, was officially opened by Mayor Neil Holdom on Thursday.
Built in Hurdon, away from the rest home complex in Westown, the day centre gives a base for a day out, playing housie or doing a quiz, and having a cooked lunch.
The members are served morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea, and are picked up and dropped off from their home, anywhere in the New Plymouth area.
The service is open to anyone who can either be referred by the Taranaki District Health Board or pay themselves.
Tainui operations manager Maxine Hooper said for many elderly, a visit was the highlight of their week.
‘‘For some people it’s the only outing they get and it’s huge for them, the friendships they make,’’ she said. ’’For some of them it’s the most important day of the week.’’
Hooper said volunteers are vital to the service, which runs five days a week.
They had formerly been set up in an old three-bedroom home next to the rest home in Clawton St.
‘‘It served us very well but it was just bursting at the seams.’’
Norma Blyde, 78, has been coming to the Thursday programme for nine years.
‘‘We’re a friendly lot. We can joke and laugh and sometimes be naughty.
‘‘If I wasn’t here I’d just be sitting at home, so it’s lovely to get out.’’
Sandra Rowe, 76, was a volunteer for the programme for five years and now is a member of Ascot. ’’It’s an ideal place. We’ve got a fantastic chef.’’
But she said it didn’t feel strange to come back as a member after being a volunteer. ‘‘It’s just like coming back home.’’