Roslynn Vella
So... My first encounter with the term Alzheimer’s disease was when I was binging the TV series 'Grey’s Anatomy’ some 15 years ago... Fast forward to 9 years ago, I came to the realisation that my mother had early-onset dementia, while she was still in her prime of life, at the age of 58. My mother, Elizabeth, also known as Alice, was a very active woman in our society, leading a public life as politician. She also served as a mayor of our local town. I grew up in a family where both my parents were actively involved on a social level within our community, through various organisations advocating for some good cause in relation to the improvement of quality of life.
It was a natural choice for me to proceed with my professional degree in Social Work, and later on mastering in the fields of Human Resources, Training and Social Policy. My experience in social work touches an array of areas, from children living in alternative care, intake services, elderly services, prisoners and housing services. I have spent ten years working within a social policy context where I was involved in national projects in the education and social ministries. where I have married my baggage of skills and knowledge to the fruition in the implementation of projects impacting families directly (such as the Free Child Care Scheme, Breakfast Clubs in Schools and Free School Transport for All). For the last four years, I have worked within the largest private company in Malta managing elderly homes, leading one of the facilities through COVID the pandemic and beyond. I have now recently moved on to a new appointment with Hospice Malta, in the role of Chief Operations Officer.
For many years, I have contributed in the executive committee of the Maltese Association for Social Workers, representing it on the Malta Federation of Professional Bodies as well as the Malta Social Work Profession Board. I have followed and supported the work of the Malta Dementia Society, for the past years, due to my personal involvement with the illness. In the last year, I was encouraged to join the Executive Committee of the Society, whereby we are working to create a social work program to be able to support families and caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease.
The care for my mother is a top priority for me on a daily basis. Together with my father and my brother, my mother lives in our family home in the centre of the community, as we are her main carers. We are also very much supported by our extended family… very lucky and grateful to have such a close knit family relations here in Malta.
Now here I am, sitting on the European Dementia Carers Working Group, after being nominated by the Malta Dementia Society, very honoured I must say, and surely looking forward to contribute on the European level in order to improve the quality of life of families affected by dementia.
