Living with dementia is tough...
...getting support shouldn’t be.
At The Dementia Care Hub we offer emotional and practical support to families, care partners and people living within dementia through the entire journey and beyond.
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​Our hubs in Totton and Calmore, Waterside and Portchester, provide welcoming spaces for people to connect, enjoy shared experiences and build supportive relationships. We offer:
If you are living with dementia,
we’ve got you every step of the way.
Weekly drop-in social groups for anyone affected by dementia
Wellbeing activity days – providing respite and friendship
Support groups for carers – both online and in-person
Wellbeing support calls for those who need a listening ear
Advice, referrals and advocacy when extra help is needed
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Why we exist?
At the Dementia Care Hub, we are on a mission to make the lives of people living with a dementia, their care partners, family and friends better. We aim to prevent avoidable distress through practical and emotional support that is inclusive and accessible to all.
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The difference we make
Through personalised, community-focused support we help people affected by dementia live the lives they choose for as long as possible.
Our approach focuses on helping people build confidence, maintain independence, and strengthen their connections within a supportive community.
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We help families navigate the changes dementia can bring, particularly within relationships, while promoting emotional resilience and wellbeing.
We offer a guiding hand and a listening ear through both the good times and the difficult moments — offering advice, understanding, encouragement and practical support every step of the way.
We believe:
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No-one should have to face dementia alone.
Dignity, choice and respect in navigating the dementia journey are a basic human right.
With the right support, people can live well with dementia.
Our Story
The Dementia Care Hub is a Hampshire-based charity which started life as a project in Totton, set up by Dr Kellyn Lee BSc (Hons) Mres, PhD and CPsychol. It was incorporated as a charity on 3rd August 2023.
The charity was founded on the belief that the narrative surrounding dementia has been unnecessarily bleak. Too often, people are left feeling uncertain and alone after a diagnosis, despite strong evidence that, with the right support, it is possible to continue to live a meaningful and fulfilling life.
Created to offer a more compassionate and hopeful approach, The Dementia Care Hub provides practical guidance, clear information, peer support, and evidence-based wellbeing strategies. Our aim is to help people feel more confident, connected, and supported.
Our work is grounded in the belief that no one should feel defined by a diagnosis or alone in their journey. The charity walks alongside people living with dementia and their care partners — offering understanding, reassurance, and support every step of the way.
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Today, the charity delivers hub-based activities across the New Forest (Totton, Calmore and Waterside) and Portchester in Fareham. We prioritise communities where people face rural isolation, or which are lacking in dementia care support services.
We believe that every town and city in Hampshire should have an active dementia care community and every high street should be dementia friendly. We work with individuals, communities and other dementia organisations to achieve this aim.
Our Leadership Team
Emma has a diverse background in charity leadership, oral history, heritage and community engagement. Like so many people, she has direct experience of caring for a loved one with dementia and believes wholeheartedly that people can and should be supported to live well with dementia. In 2014, Emma trained to deliver Remembering Yesterday, Caring Today reminiscence workshops, and draws on this practice to support people with dementia to find moments of joy and reconnection with their passions, achievements and life experiences.
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​Emma joined the charity in March 2026 and is focused on building on the charity’s strong foundation of specialist community-focused support and expanding on what we do, who we reach and how we help.
Emma Golby-Kirk
Director
Nerys brings 30 years of experience in the social care field and has dedicated the last 14 years to supporting individuals living with dementia and their families. In her previous roles for the Alzheimer's Society and Andover Mind, Nerys has had the privilege of guiding people with a dementia diagnosis and their care partners through the complexities of their journey. In her role as Operations Manager for The Dementia Care Hub, Nerys ensures that people with dementia and their carers are offered practical and emotional support, so that each person feels empowered, informed, and supported throughout their experience.
Nerys Blackburn
Operations Manager
Our Trustees
Rick is a highly experienced Management Consultant and retired HR/Organisational Development Director. He is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Personnel and Development and also has a post graduate diploma in Employee Relations, as well as a master’s degree specialising in Employment Law, European Employee Relations, Reward, Organisational Development and managing change.
Rick has worked across several sectors, including the NHS, local and national government as well as higher education. He is an experienced trustee, having previously held roles with a housing and adult social care charity as well as an NHS charity. He is also currently a lay member with NHS England.
Rick Glover
Co-chair of Trustees
Virginia is a Mentor, NED and Consultant offering constructive challenge, strategic thinking and innovative solutions, having worked primarily in the defence and aviation industries.
She brings an extensive track record as a Non-Executive Director and Senior Consultant with strong capabilities in enabling collaboration and exploring multiple stakeholder perspectives in complex international industries underpinned by robust technical and engineering knowledge.
Specific areas of professional expertise include aviation focused strategy, safety and security and enterprise architecture – adding diversity of perspective to the trustee team.
Virginia Hodge
Co-chair of Trustees
Fiona Chaâbane
Trustee and dementia care advisory lead
Fiona qualified as a registered psychiatric nurse in 1983 and has over 40 years’ experience in dementia services across West Sussex in both clinical and managerial roles.
In 2002, she established a service supporting younger people with cognitive disorders, including Huntington’s disease (HD), providing family-centred care from diagnosis through ongoing community support.
In 2014, she joined University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, working with Professor Christopher Kipps to improve outcomes in cognitive disorders clinics, later becoming Clinical Nurse Specialist and Coordinator.
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Since April 2021, Fiona has been a Consultant Admiral Nurse at Dementia UK, specialising in community-based care and expert professional guidance.
supported by the
Co-op Community Fund
Did you know that whenever you buy anything online – from your weekly shop to your annual holiday – you could be raising free donations for The Dementia Care Hub with easyfundraising?
There are over 7,000 brands on board ready to make a donation – including eBay, Argos, John Lewis, ASOS, Booking.com and M&S – and it won’t cost you a penny extra to help us raise funds.