New Housing LIN Dementia co-lead

My name is Candy Worf, I am a Senior Commissioner leading on Somerset’s Mental Health and Dementia agenda for the Local Authority in Somerset. It has been a wild 16 months, working in adult social care during a global pandemic, but I have learned a lot and have fully embraced this opportunity to think creatively and move quickly to improve services and implement new interventions. Last year that included leading on the design and implementation of Somerset’s first Step-Up and Step-Down (Crisis House).

My background is in the charity sector and my most recent roles include National Engagement Manager for Age UK where I was able to create mechanisms to enable older people to make their voices heard on matters including the NHS Long Term Plan and Five Year Forward View. I also worked for the Mental Health Foundation, setting up and co facilitating peer support groups for people with dementia and or experiencing loneliness and isolation in London Extra Care Housing Schemes. My ambition for the next 12 months is to radically improve our mental health and dementia housing offer and to do something a bit different in that arena - which suits Somerset.

I am delighted to be taking over from Katey Twyford in the role as the Housing LIN’s Co-Dementia Lead, with Guinness Partnership’s Wendy Wells. What a hard act to follow! The Housing LIN is a fantastic organisation which I have worked alongside on sounding boards in previous roles, and which has given me so much clear steer over the years surrounding good practice engagement and evidence based models and initiatives.

Feel free to contact us at dementia@housinglin.org.uk
 

I would first like to thank Katey for the all the support she has provided the Housing LIN over the years, in a role that is undoubtably valuable to both the Housing LIN and various groups she met along the way.

We are so pleased that Candy has agreed to step into Katey’s shoes as dementia co-lead and offer a warm welcome to the team. In the same way we know that Candy will play a fundamental role in the Housing LIN’s work, we hope that with her passion and creative energy and specialism in mental health and dementia, she will gain a lot from the role for both herself, and her council.

Jeremy Porteus, Housing LIN