Surviving strokes – and how!

Three years ago Stephen moved from Plymouth to Exmouth and saw a call out in the local paper for someone to run the local stroke survivors’ club. He applied and got the role.

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Stephen is a Christian and says he tries to support others from all different backgrounds “because I’ve been there himself”. I don’t ask what he means by that, but he does later say he’s had several strokes and TIAs.

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Initially, the group met in Exmouth Pavillion; then they used a council building. More recently, they’ve been using All Saints’ Church in Exmouth. The church hall is open two days a week until 3pm as a Warm Welcome Space. (Stephen calls it a Warm Hub.)

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“We felt sometimes people wanted it for longer so now people can come back from 6pm or 7pm. We have some entertainment. We’ve had Elvis nights and all sorts,” says Stephen.

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“We get food donated from Tesco and Marks & Spencer each week which we use for meals,” says Stephen. Other food donations go to people in the community who can use it.

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On a Monday and a Wednesday, the Stroke Survivors’ Club gives a dinner, “at dinnertime”. The Club also delivers food parcels to people who can’t come to the meetings for whatever reason, charging a nominal £3 for delivery (waived for those who really can’t pay).

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Sometimes, club members check on others and offer advice, for instance on energy saving and payments. “People say thank you, if it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t know what to do,” says Stephen, unassumingly.

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Funding has been an issue, but the Survivors’ Club charges a yearly subscription and they have held several fundraising events including a quiz and a gardening activity for which they were donated plants and soil. Sport England even gave them a table tennis table.

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And that’s not it: the Club teaches cookery skills to people on low incomes or those who’ve had strokes, showing them how to use vegetables and what they might have in the kitchen cupboard.

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“I want to make sure people feel looked after,” says Stephen.

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The Club has grown from five or six people three years ago, to 75 club members today. It really is the most fantastic example of a space serving its community – not just stroke survivors, but anyone who wants a warm and welcoming space, some food and drink, plus friendship, entertainment and sound life advice. Thank you, Stephen.

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There’s more on the Exmouth Stroke Survivors’ website here: https://exmouthstrokesurvivorsclub.com/