IN early 2022 Meagan Ambrose opened the Stay Connected Activity Centre in Taylor’s Beach with a desire to ensure that those who struggle with ongoing memory loss are not themselves forgotten.

“One of the tragedies of living with dementia or memory loss is that it can be so isolating for people,” said Maraya Fameli, the Centre’s coordinator.

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“Not just for those that experience it, but for their families and carers as well.”

Director Meagan Ambrose spent 21 years operating a community nursing and home care service in Port Stephens.

It was in this role that she saw first-hand how damaging it is when people are simply not capable of maintaining social connections.

This issue was particularly heightened by the restrictions imposed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Meagan saw that there was a critical need to bring these people together, and help create community,” Maraya said.

Stay Connected hosts a range of activities to keep their clients engaged and help them to exercise the mind.

Maraya pointed out that an obvious difficulty for many of the clients was how to access the facility.

“We’re connecting with home care providers now, and ACAT assessors are recommending our services.

“We just needed to get people here.”

Although it has been a lengthy wait due to the current high demand of vehicles, Port Stephens Toyota has finally been able to provide Stay Connected with their own bus.

“This enables us to bring people to our Centre, take them on day-trips and it’s helping get people out in the community again.”

By Lindsay HALL