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Alzheimer's Disease, Alzheimer's Society, Alzheimers, awareness materials, carers support, community, community event, community support, DAW, DAW2016, Dementia, Dementia Action Alliance, Dementia Friendly Communities, Dementia Friends, Dementia Portal, event, health and wellbeing, Living Well with Dementia, Nuneaton, Peer Support, Social Care, Warwickshire, warwickshire county council
Warwickshire marked this year’s Dementia Awareness Week by holding a Dementia Support and Services Event on Friday 20th May in Nuneaton Newtown Centre.
It is estimated that by 2025, over 11,000 people aged over 65 will be living with dementia in Warwickshire. By 2020, around one fifth (18%) of those aged over 80 in Warwickshire are projected to have dementia.
The impact of dementia can be far-reaching, but by increasing awareness and understanding of this condition we can make a real difference to improving the lives of people living with dementia and also support those who care for them.
The 20th May informal drop-in event offered a chance for Warwickshire residents to find out more about services available to support people with dementia and their loved ones, in different areas of our county.
Partners worked together to develop a full and varied programme including holding a market stall for local providers as well as offering a number of engaging taster sessions such as story making, memory box making, Dementia Friends or an ‘ooomph’ chair based exercise class.
A range of providers attended the event to promote their service offer, these included for example: Alzheimer’s Society, Age UK, Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust, Millbrook Healthcare, the Herbert Art Gallery, Citizen Advice Bureau, Dementia Action Alliance, Warwickshire Library Service, South Warwickshire Foundation trust and a range of care homes and home care providers.
The event was well attended and a number of people commented that it was very helpful in terms of networking and finding information about dementia service provision in Warwickshire, talking to service providers about support available to individual families and participate in taster sessions, or having a health check done.
Each attendee was provided with a ‘goodie bag’ containing a number of different leaflets with information signposting people to a variety of support organisations working with people with dementia.
The event also saw the re-launch Warwickshire’s refreshed Living Well with Dementia Strategy 2016 – 2019; a copy of the Strategy is available on Warwickshire County Council’s website: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/dementiastrategy.
Continued promotion and delivery of Dementia Friends information sessions will form part of the Strategy’s delivery plan. There are currently approximately 11,500 Dementia Friends in Warwickshire and our aim is to increase the number of Dementia Friends in the county to at least 30,000 in the next four years.
Dementia Friends is a national initiative run by the Alzheimer’s Society focused around raising awareness of dementia and to help build dementia-friendly communities. Becoming a dementia friend is about understanding a bit more about dementia and the small things that can help people with the condition. You don’t need to already know someone with dementia to become a dementia friend.
You can find the nearest Dementia Friends information session by visiting: www.dementiafriends.org.uk
Please see below some photos from the event.
Contact: dementiapartnership@warwickshire.gov.uk
