Founder’s Profile – Dementia Care Experience & Workshops

Co-founder and CEO

Chinno WILLS-COLE
Dip. Business & Admin
BA (Hons) Sol Pol & Crim (Open)
MSc Dementia Care.

Chinno has always had an interest in education, health and social care, criminology and social policy. Among all these, his biggest passion is in the pursuit of helping people with conditions such as dementia, to live a full life as practically independent as possible. Where this is not the case, Chinno’s dream is to provide support, advice and recommend services for people living with the condition as well as recommending support to meet the needs of their carers.

The experience of watching his late grandmother exhibit some of the signs that he later recognised as dementia symptoms, reinforced his desire to pursue the study of dementia care.

Chinno has worked in the National Health Service (NHS) since July 2000, as an Office Administrator, Data Manager, and as an Assistant Performance and Contracts Manager, at the same time studying for his degrees. Chinno also worked as a care assistant before joining the NHS and recently, as a home carer for people living with dementia and part of his core work was to review care plans and make recommendations in line with the constant change of the care needs of the people living with dementia.

In his working life, Chinno has worked with and formed strong collaborative working relationships with a range of health professionals from Psychologists and Psychiatrists to Community Psychiatric Nurses (CPN), Physiotherapists, Audiologists, Community Nurses, Occupational Therapists and Social Workers and also some wonderful team administrators.

Chinno volunteers with the Youth Offenders Service (YOS) as a trained Restorative Justice Facilitator (RJF) dealing with Court Referral Orders, supervising community reparations and work as a youth mentor. He is also a keen football coach who uses his knowledge of the game to engage with the youths and to help divert them away from crime and anti-social behaviours, supporting them to engage positively with society and their immediate communities.

Chinno is a motivational speaker who enjoys engaging in social discussions on all issues affecting society. He is also a sessional tutor with Hounslow Adult and Community Education (HACE), teaching Dementia Awareness and a part time lecturer at the University of West London during the academic year, 2020-21. Chinno is a “Dementia Friends Champion”, trained with the Alzheimer’s Society and the first person from the black minority ethnic group to be appointed a member of Trustee of the National Activity Providers Association (NAPA) UK, www.napa-activities.co.uk. Chinno is also a presenter with Pendulum radio station, presenting “Dementia Hour”, a programme aimed to create more awareness of dementia in our society and particularly for African listeners both in the diaspora and in Africa.

Chinno holds a diploma in Business and Administration, BA (Hons) Social Policy and Criminology (Open) and Masters in Dementia Care, specialising in the study of the effects of music on people living with dementia, particularly those from the Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities.

COVID-19 UPDATE

We understand that people are concerned about Covid-19 and what it means for those living with dementia, because we know that people living with the condition are already isolated and lonely. As a result, we have increased our efforts to ensure that people are not isolated at this critical time. As things settle down, we hope to continue to collaborate with other organisations, agencies, and care providers to provide support for families and their loved ones living with dementia through workshops and community outreach programmes.

All updates are made in accordance with government regulations. Visit the official UK government website for data and insights on coronavirus (Covid-19)

Feedback

I feel organisations such as yours will greatly improve societal understanding of dementia especially in the BAME communities. Thank you for your work.
– Akim (Northern Ireland)

I have to say, looking back to the struggles we went through taking care of my late grandmother, organisations such as yours would have put it into perspective what it is like to care for someone you love who lived with dementia but the family were not aware of this at the time. May God bless your efforts and your vision.
– Jasmine (SW London)

I cannot express highly enough how glad I am to see what you and your organisation is trying to do. Africa and particularly the West would benefit from organisation such as yours and I truly believe that so many families and even other dementia care originations and service providers will benefit immensely from the vision you are putting out. The British are lucky. I must say, well done and please do keep up the good work and I hope one day this vision will also happen in Africa.

– Bimbola (Ogun State, Nigeria)

Congratulation to you and your team on a wonderful vision. Well done.

– Big Joe (South London, UK)

This is wonderful. May God guide your work.

– Alasine, (Freetown, Sierra Leone)

I have to say, your workshops on caring for carers has been an eye-opener. Caring for my wife who has dementia has been a big challenge, not just for me but for my entire family. What I have learnt from your workshops, has already made a positive impact on my health. I now know when to stop and take a break and I also now know how to deal with her behaviours which can be challenging some times. So thank you so much and keep up the good work.

– Mr P Mohamed (Ealing, UK)

I cannot speak highly enough of your organisation and the work you are doing so far. Your workshops on stress reduction techniques have been remarkable. I can now control my stress levels and I have learnt to be in control of my emotions as I care for my mum who has Alzheimer’s.

– Ms Janet (Hounslow, UK)

A huge thank you to dementia care experience and workshops, and the founders for this wonderful initiative and for having this vision to promote the awareness of dementia especially in our community, the black and minority ethnic group.

– Alhaj Dinpa (London)

I believe dementia care experience and workshops is such a great addition to the drive to educate our people about dementia. I have heard about dementia in the past but I was not very clear about the disease and have so little to say about it. However, through your organisation, and what I have read and seen about your aim of launching dementia care experience and workshops, I am beginning to understand more about this illness that some of our people do not often want to talk about.

– Ms Takyi (London)