How to find a (live in) "companion"?

[lostinspace2014]

A good friend of mine has issues with her mother. I suspect she may have early dementia or similar issues which has manifested itself with my friend getting up to 100 calls a day with various issues from her. She can spend the chunk of a day with her but within 10 minutes of getting home the calls will begin and it is as if she had never visited. This is putting a strain on my friend's family and she thought maybe a live in companion could help as constant company. Where do you find such people? I suspect from an agency similar to where one would look to find a child's nanny. She is not looking for someone from an agency that comes, stays for 20 minutes and leaves. Does anyone have the name of a reputable agency or any other suggestions on how she can cope with this? Please feel free to PM me. Many thanks.

There are various agencies who provide live in care. Saga is one. We moved my mother to very sheltered accommodation with a 24 hour warden, other residents and a reception instead.

Social services will be able to send you a list.

that is not suitable for her as it makes no difference. She is sort of in that already and it does not stop the 24/7 calls.

Have a look in the classified section of The Lady - there are usually a number of agencies and individuals advertising.
Also, the local authority social services (at least in my MIL's area) may list them, if approved by the council, in their lists of carers/agencies.

There is also an organisation called shared lives plus, who set up home shares- where someone lived rent free/for low rent in return for providing comanionship and low level support. It may not provide enough support for your friends mum but is definitely worth a look.

There's a scheme where people who need a room (vetted to make sure they're responsible) are paired with older people who have a spare room. Read about it in The Guardian.

homeshare.org/programmes-worldwide/united-kingdom/

www.theguardian.com/money/2012/jan/06/homeshare-scheme-tackle-housing-crisis

Some agencies offer live in care- helping hand I think was one? Your local council should gave details of local providers. Good luck.

We had good experiences with country cousins, www.country-cousins.co.uk. They provide people for a fortnight at a time, time to get used to each other, but not to get on each others nerves. It ensures that the carers get a break, too.

We had three, on rotation, all very different personalities but brilliant each in their own way.

They understand the business, so are able to answer all your questions and to guide you though the process. Not cheap, but really a life saver. Hope you find something that works for you.

I love the home share idea so much wish we could share a London house with an older person we could help or another family. Though noone would want a family of four!

Looseleaf - I bet a lot of older people would love having a lively house from a family of 4, so long as they've got room

I doubt the agency would consider matching a young person with someone with dementia, it simply would be too much for them to take on. Mild memory loss might be OK, but OPs acquaintance is at the stage of making numerous daily phone calls and obviously requires quite a lot of reassurance and management.

myhometouch, if you want to advertise your services on Mumnset, please contact MNHQ directly about your advertising requirements www.mumsnet.com/info/classifieds.