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We are a small, lean charity, and make sure to use our funds wisely. We were founded by our Chief Executive Helen Hamblen when she herself experienced the heart-breaking reality of dementia. All our trustees and staff have lived experience of dementia and so we all know what it is like to live the dementia journey, and that’s why people who need our services and our support are at the heart of everything we do.

Our Team

ChieF EXECUTIVE

Helen Hamblen

Helen lives in West End with her husband and two sons. She has been living with dementia since 2014 when her father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, Vascular dementia, and Lewy Body dementia, and shares caring responsibilities with her family.

PEER support COORDINATOR

Kathryn Strange

Kathryn lives in Botley with her husband and daughter. She also has a grown-up son and stepchildren that have left home. She has been living with dementia since 2014 when her father was diagnosed with mixed dementia and shares caring responsibilities with her mother and siblings.

Trustee

Petina Leaver

Petina lives in Shirrell Heath with her husband. She has two grown up children that have flown the nest. Tina has lived experience of dementia when she cared for her father who had Dementia. She works full time at Tesco Bank in IT. Tina agreed to chair our Board of Trustees as she too had

Trustee

Simon Elliot

Simon lives in Whiteley with his wife and young son. He is a Finance Director and accountant and often works from home so that he can share childcare with his wife. Simon’s mum was diagnosed with dementia in 2016 and he turned to Helen with questions about where to go and what to do.

Trustee

Claire Applin

Claire lives near Petersfield with her husband. She has two children and two stepchildren, all now grown up and pursuing their own careers. Claire's father had Parkinson's disease and vascular dementia. Claire is a qualified social worker and has spent the last 32 years working in the adult health and social care sector,

Trustee

Cameron Pinn

Cameron's family home is in Somerset, but he is a student at Southampton University studying Medicine. He hopes that by the end of 2026 he will be a fully qualified doctor! Cameron’s grandfather has Parkinson’s disease. Cameron also volunteers for AgeUK and joined Dementia Support – Hampshire & IOW as a Trustee because he is

Trustee

Helen Bodiam

Helen lives in Fleet with her husband. She is a qualified CIMA accountant and has 20+ years experience working in finance in the charity and not-for-profit sectors. She has worked for some well known charities such as The Prince’s Trust, Prostate Cancer UK, Wessex Cancer Trust and is now Finance Manager at The Brain Tumour Charity.

Trustee

Karon Walton

Karon lives in Portchester and works in Fareham, specialising in later-life client law which includes Court of Protection, Lasting Powers of Attorney, care home and funding issues. The Court of Protection deals with applications on behalf of people who have lost their mental capacity and are therefore unable to manage their own affairs.

Trustee

Dr Nicola Andrews

Nicola lives in Hedge End and works at the University of Southampton as a researcher. Her research is focused on ageing and dementia. She is a registered nurse and before moving into research spent over 25 years working across health, social care and the charitable sector, mostly in palliative care.

With special thanks to our funders

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