Aiding fulfilling lives through word of mouth
V FOR THE past seven years, Kate Fulton has harnessed the power of the written word to create communities, combat loneliness, support those with mental health issues and make life more fulfilling for people living with dementia.
A volunteer with The Reader — a growing movement of 1,000 volunteers and partners — the former media lawyer from Temple Fortune will launch her 30th “shared reading” group at JW3 in spring. The groups bring people together to share and discuss novels, short stories and poems.
The Finchley Synagogue member initially got involved to help establish groups in Barnet. “I was volunteering at Jewish Care, recording audiobooks for the blind, when someone from The Reader came in.
“They had successfully established themselves in
Kate Fulton and one of the Jewish Care shared reading groups
Liverpool and were looking to set up groups in North London. My first group was at the Sobell Centre for Jewish Care. “Sadly, local authority funding for the project was withdrawn but I continued to grow the groups on a voluntary basis, with the support of local organisations. We now have a wide range of thriving groups throughout Barnet and Camden, seven in Jewish Care homes and centres, one at Jami, as well as in synagogues, community centres, pubs, shopping centres — even two in hospital dialysis units. Groups are open to all ages but we do tend to have a lot of retired folk.”
Ms Fulton’s voluntary work in Barnet was recognised in the New Year Honours when she was awarded the
British Empire Medal.
She numbers teachers, an actress, a retired therapist and nurses among her volunteers. Each receives training before they begin facilitating a group. She is always on the lookout for more, pointing out: “They do not need to be experts in English literature. Shared reading is about discovering the chosen text together. I, and the other volunteers, do not analyse or give interpretations of the text. We ask questions, we listen, discuss how it makes people feel, memories it evokes, and talk about what they think the author or poet is trying to say.
“Once a group is more established —usually with a maximum of 12-13 people, I find we get a growing sense of community.”
At the Jami group, which will have its next meeting in the week leading up to the charity’s Mental Health Shabbat, Ms Fulton said the feedback had been particularly positive.
“In the Jewish Care dementia groups, we tend to read poems because I find they really enjoy cadence and the rhythm; I pause a lot, ask people if they have favourite lines. Sometimes people like to read, some just listen.
“Once we were reading a poem when a lady who had never contributed before suddenly pointed out that the poem was actually a song. She agreed to sing it for us and then told us she hadn’t heard it since she was evacuated during the war.
“Afterwards she said to me she felt like she had just got back some of her childhood. It was an incredible moment and such a privilege to be part of it.”
In addition to her voluntary work with The Reader, the mother of three is a trustee for employment support charity Resource and Sacks Morasha Primary School in Finchley.
She has also continued to record audiobooks for the blind.
Groups are open to all ages but we do have a lot of retired folk’