Dementia Friends in the news this week

Herald reporter Nick Reid becomes Tamworth's 400th Dementia Friend

Via Tamworth Herald [13 January 2017]

Dementia is not a natural part of ageing. Dementia is caused by diseases of the brain. There is more to a person than the dementia. These are just some of the key messages I learned as I became Tamworth's 400th Dementia Friend, raising awareness about the condition and being more aware myself on what it involves.



With a cup of tea in hand and sitting at the Community Together CIC hub, in the Castle Grounds, I was joined by project coordinator Lee Bates and director of operations Steve Hodgetts who would take me on a journey.
It all started with a brief introduction and then a game of bingo. As Lee read out small statements about dementia, I had to fill in the blanks with the words written on my card. After each sentence, I was told the answer and given a brief explanation why.

Click to read the full story 



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Workington aiming to be dementia friendly

Via Times & Star [13 January 2017]

Margaret Falcon, dementia support worker and dementia friends champion, said: “Raising awareness of dementia is a social action movement. 
“There are five key points that people need to understand: dementia is not a natural part of ageing, it’s caused by a disease of the brain, it’s not just about losing memory, it’s possible to live well with dementia and there’s more to the person than the disease.

“The brain of a person with dementia can be compared to fairy lights. Some of them work perfectly, some of them flicker and some of them don’t work. “One in 14 people over 65 has dementia, but some people don’t go to the GP because of the fear and stigma attached to dementia and go un-diagnosed.

Click to read the full story 



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dental staff raise awareness of dementia

Via Cambrian News [09 January 2017]

Staff at Penlan Dental Care in Pwllheli swapped tooth care for dementia awareness this week when they signed up for a Dementia Friends session at their practice.
Dentists, nurses and reception staff took part in the one-hour session, an Alzheimer’s Society initiative, to improve their understanding of dementia and to help make their practice more dementia friendly.



Eleri Griffith said: “We all know somebody who has been affected by dementia. We meet people living with dementia in our work on a regular basis and it has been so helpful to learn about the issues they and their families face. “Now we are all Dementia Friends, it has changed the way that we think, talk and act about dementia”.

Click to read the full story 



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Clydebank Alzheimer Scotland centre aims to make more Dementia Friends in 2017

Via Clydebank Post [06 January 2017]

At the turn of the New Year, Bankies joined people around the world as they pledged to make positive changes to their lives in the year ahead. But one Clydebank charity branch is hoping the resolution at the top of residents’ lists for 2017 will be to become a dementia friend.



Alzheimer Scotland’s Miller Street staff have been hard at work reaching people throughout the community, including Clydebank’s police force and a Post reporter, on how to take care of those with the disease. Fiona Kane, a dementia advisor at the branch, held a workshop to explain what it means to become a dementia friend and introduce the campaign’s key messages, including breaking the stigma surrounding the illness.

Click to read the full story 



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Truro residents invited to become Dementia Friends Champions

Via Falmouth Packet [04 Janyuary 2017]

People in Truro, and the surrounding area, are being given the chance to make a difference to the lives of local people with dementia by becoming Dementia Friends Champions. People can book now to attend a touring induction day that is coming to the town on Tuesday, January 10. The day-long session, that will take place at Truro Community Library, is part of Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Friends programme, which is the biggest ever initiative to change people’s perceptions of dementia. It aims to transform the way the nation acts, thinks and talks about the condition.

Click to read the full story