What’s old is new again

A care assistant in a Perth day club has challenged his clients with dementia to find creative ways to repurpose, reuse and upcycle old things.

Three years ago, Eugene Hands started the Catherine King Day Club men’s shed, where he has been able to use his background in carpentry to facilitate a number of creative projects for people living with dementia.

Rummaging through hard rubbish to find materials to use in their projects is an integral part of the process, and one Mr Hands’ clients have come to enjoy just as much as the production phase.

They have found timber, door handles, hinges, old furniture, frames and even paint by the roadside.

Mr Hands said the men are inventive with their ideas and cooperate as a group to solve problems.

“There’s always lots of discussion,” Mr Hands said.

“I get pointers from my clients, which is brilliant.”

So far the men in his group have made wooden tool boxes, flower pots and a children’s table and chair set for one of their members’ grandchildren, built from scratch using scavenged wood, reclaimed brackets and recovered screws, nuts and bolts.

The team have also joined with the day club gardening group to work on building a rock garden and an Avery.

They have already completed a garden arch welded from abandoned metal pipe, covered in rescued chicken wire and planted with jasmine.

Mr Hands worked as a screen printer before he came to work at Amana Living Osborne Park nine years ago, and he hasn’t looked back since.

“Once I got to know my clients, I fell in love with the job.”

The men’s shed has not only given men with dementia an opportunity to challenge themselves creatively, but a place to unwind and socialise with like-minded people.

“We’ve had the quiet ones really knuckle down and come out of their shell, because they’ve got a group who they can talk to.

“That’s what we’re really doing here, bringing them together.”

Image: Eugene Hands, left, with client Robert Rumble outside the men's shed at Catherine King Day Club. CONTRIBUTED.