From Wednesday, residents with dementia at Het Beemdhuis in Breda can follow forget-me-nots to find their way to the shopping center and back home. 25 tiles with these flowers together create the ‘Back Home Path’ that helps them stay independent for longer. There will be more of these types of paths in Breda, but residents Ineke and Dinie were allowed to try out the very first one.
“We actually had to count the flower tiles,” Ineke den Hollander says to her friend Dinie ter Avest when they walk together arm in arm on the Back to Home path for the first time. “But we forgot that.”
The older ladies forget more, because they have dementia and therefore live in the Het Beemdhuis residential care center. Leaving the house independently is becoming increasingly difficult, because due to their illness they often no longer know the way back. Fortunately, there are now flowers to show the way and Ineke and Dinie can at least run errands themselves again.
“You should not lose freedom because you have lost your memory.”
Activities supervisor Astrid Nooij came up with the idea. “The Back to Home path is important because our residents need clarity and guidance,” she says. “The tiles with the flowers are simple and recognizable. They can follow the route and that means more freedom for the residents. That is something very beautiful, because you should not lose freedom because you have lost your memory.”
It mainly concerns the way back to Het Beemdhuis, but also on the way to the Kesteren shopping center, Ineke and Diny search the sidewalk for the flower tiles. Sometimes they stop for a moment, take a good look around and continue walking.
“We have practiced a lot ourselves,” says Astrid Nooij of Het Beemdhuis about the route. “Of course there must be a tile at bends and exits. But it works and they are beautiful too!”
“We have already bought more tiles with forget-me-nots.”
The tiles are glazed by the residents themselves and paid for by the municipality of Breda. “There are more and more elderly people with dementia,” says councilor Boaz Adank, who opened the Back to Home path on Wednesday morning. “We have to prepare for this and that is why we are going to build more of these types of paths in Breda. We have already bought more tiles with forget-me-nots.”
The forget-me-not is the symbol of the Alzheimer Netherlands Foundation. After the last flowers, Ineke and Diny enter the supermarket. Then there is a moment of doubt. Because which gate was the entrance again? They just ask to be sure. “If I do something stupid, I just say I’m forgetful,” Ineke notes. “I don’t mind if I have to think a lot and then don’t know it,” says Diny.
Activities supervisor Astrid already has more ideas for routes. “I would love to have one here at the community center,” she says. “Then our residents can also drink a cup of coffee there. Or one to the care farm further away. Or to a café. We don’t have that here, but how nice would that be!”
Ineke and Diny are happy with the Back to Home path to the shops for the time being. When they come out after visiting the supermarket, they quickly find their way home and they walk home almost in one go. “I had to take a closer look, but I don’t find it difficult,” says Diny. “It’s fun.”
