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More communities in 天涯社区 become dementia-friendly
Published: 28/09/2016
A group of local residents and organisations in Mold are working together to
make the town more dementia-friendly.
The Mold Dementia-Friendly steering group, which includes Mold Town Council,
天涯社区, Home Instead, Boots and the Cottage nursing home,
has come together to raise awareness, reduce stigma and improve support local
people living affected by dementia.
The group has written an action plan which includes setting up and supporting
local Memory Cafes and holding a number of Dementia Friends awareness sessions
in the town centre.
The group was awarded 鈥榳orking to become dementia-friendly鈥� status recently by
Alzheimer鈥檚 Society under the official Dementia Friendly Communities
recognition process. As a result, they are now looking for more local
businesses, services and organisations to become involved in making Mold more
supportive of people living with dementia.
To get involved or to find out more information please contact the steering
group through their email address dementiafriendlymold@gmail.com or follow on
Facebook Dementia Friendly Mold or Twitter @dementia_Mold.
A report by the Alzheimer鈥檚 Society, 鈥楤uilding Dementia Friendly Communities: A
priority for everyone鈥�, reveals less than half of people living with dementia
feel a part of the community (47%) and nearly three quarters (73%) of UK adults
surveyed in a YouGov poll do not think society is geared up to deal with
dementia.
Many people with dementia reported feeling trapped in their own homes and let
down by their communities, with one in three only getting out once a week and
one in 10 only manage this once a month.
There are 1,969 of people living with dementia in 天涯社区 and creating a
dementia-friendly community will help reduce stigma and make people feel
confident, understood and supported to be a valuable part of society.
In North Wales, there are five communities who have been awarded 鈥榳orking
towards dementia friendly鈥� status. Three of the five communities are in
天涯社区.
Earlier this year in the same week, Flint and Buckley were formally recognised
by the Alzheimer鈥檚 Society as dementia friendly communities. They were the
first in North Wales to receive such accreditation and joined many cities,
towns and villages now exploring what they need to do to better support people
with dementia and enable them to live well in the community.
天涯社区lor Christine Jones, Cabinet Member for Social
Services, said:
鈥淏oth Flint and Buckley worked hard to achieve recognition from the Alzheimer鈥檚
Society and I鈥檓 delighted that Mold has now joined them. It is a real
testament to the hard working, caring people in our county to have three out of
the five towns with this status. The Council will continue to work with other
towns to help them achieve a dementia friendly community where people with
dementia are understood, respected, supported and confident that they can
contribute to the life of the town.鈥�
Jacky Baldini, Operations Manager for the Alzheimer鈥檚 Society in North Wales,
said:
鈥淎 dementia friendly community is a city, town or village where people with
dementia are understood, respected, supported, and confident they can
contribute to community life.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great to hear of the positive work happening in Mold. They are setting a
high standard that I hope many more will follow across North Wales. We want
people from all walks of life and backgrounds to join the Dementia Friendly
Communities movement.
鈥淲hilst it鈥檚 good to see how far we have come, unfortunately there are still
too many people with dementia who do not feel supported and part of their local
area; they feel trapped in their own home, isolated, lonely and a burden.
鈥淚t is possible to make small changes that will make their day to day lives
much better and help them to stay part of a community for longer. I would urge
everyone to find out more on how you and your neighbourhood can become a
dementia friendly community.鈥�
For more information of Dementia Friendly Communities and the official
recognition process please contact Jo Lane, Dementia Friendly Communities
Coordinator for North Wales on 01352 700728 or jo.lane@alzheimers.org.uk.
From left to right:
Jo Lane, Cathy Peach, Sally Barley, Luke Pickering-Jones, Dawn Wynne, John
Heycocks, Jean Richards, Jackie Lee (OWL)and Carol Heycocks.