Staff Deliverer Sally Townsend is a Community Development Coordinator in schools covering the Bristol area who earlier this year reached the incredible milestone of making her 8000th Dementia Friend!
“The purpose of my role is to create a more dementia-friendly youth population in Bristol schools, working with the ages of 4 – 18 years old. It is rewarding to think that many of these individuals will be using these sessions to improve lives of people living with dementia within their own families and communities, perhaps both personally and professionally, now and in the future.
I made my 8000th Dementia Friend during my 300th Dementia Friends session! This was part of a sequence of lessons in a college, using Dementia Friends as the foundation.
The session was with a number of students, many with quite complex needs. Some had moved to England quite recently and had very limited knowledge of dementia as it wasn't a topic discussed in their country of origin or within their culture. Other students had a number of quite significant learning difficulties and disabilities, such as autism and ADHD.
It was reported that student engagement in such sessions was typically limited. However, as we know dementia doesn't discriminate, so we persevered. With time, commitment to the students, learning and relationship building, even the most hesitant of students grew in confidence and engaged in ways that had not been seen before. Vulnerable students showed some real empathy and were motivated to take their learning forward, sharing it with others.”
On creating her 8000th Dementia Friend, Sally told us: “I feel proud that such a large number of young people in Bristol and the wider school community now have a deeper knowledge and understanding of what dementia is, how it may affect someone and ways to help those affected.”
Sally’s Role Manager, Dementia Friends Engagement Officer, Wendi, said: “Sally has worked extremely hard as a Staff Deliverer delivering Dementia Friends sessions to children and young people and is a shining example of inspiring dementia action in the next generation. A massive congratulations from the Dementia Friends Team!”
