The 183 residents of the Donisthorpe home in Leeds will now be able to listen to the local Jcom radio station in the comfort of their rooms thanks to the installation of an intercom system.
Addressing the station’s annual coffee morning on Sunday, Jcom director and former Donisthorpe chairman Geoff Caplan said: “Our senior management has recently visited Holland to learn about the benefits of listening in dementia cases, even when sufferers cannot understand what they hear.
“If you can find a spark in those experiencing the worst phases of dementia, then listening can be most beneficial.”
Mr Caplan had initiated Jcom’s recent relocation from a smaller studio at the Maz community centre to a more spacious base at Donisthorpe.
He said the station was “the cement that holds the community together”.
Donisthorpe has funded the listening system and will meet 50 per cent of the station’s running costs up to an annual maximum of £5,000. “But there is a limit to what we can do,” he added, “and we need more help from the community”. He urged producers and presenters to seek sponsorship.
Another speaker was local MP Fabian Hamilton — who has his own monthly Jcom programme, Our Man At Westminster — who told guests that when in London, he “never stopped talking about Jcom, the only Jewish radio station in the country.
“The production values are superb. They compare favourably with any commercial or BBC local station that I’ve ever heard.”
Run by volunteers, Jcom broadcasts six days a week and is also heard online.
