Back in July, I spoke about my ongoing campaign to raise awareness on the issues of Dementia. In this column, I spoke about a number initiatives locally and nationally, and one of them was the Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Friends Programme.
The aim of Dementia Friends is to create one million ‘dementia friends’ who will learn more about living with dementia, how to help those living with the disease and, more importantly, spread that understanding to others so that the community of help grows even bigger.
This community has increased slightly, as very recently my staff and I took part in a Dementia Friends Session. The information session only takes about an hour, and it was led by local Dementia Champion, Duncan Jones. Duncan guided us through many of the misconceptions of dementia; that it is not just a natural part of growing old or losing your memory, but it is a disease that can take an individual’s identity and the freedom to do everyday tasks, communicate and to think.
Duncan, like so many of these great Dementia Champions, truly are “champions”. They speak to you about their own experiences, the emotional stresses and strains of watching their loved ones deal with this illness. Throughout the whole session, they provide a greater understanding of the illness, along with help, advice and inspiration, especially to those who are going through the same experience, or to those who have a friend or a relative dealing with a similar situation.
However, what was made very clear during the session is that it is possible to live well with dementia. Ensuring the community of support grows means people with dementia can still take an active role in their community.
I would recommend to anyone to book a Dementia Friend session. It will provide so much comfort to those who have dementia to know they have one million friends behind them.
For further details about Dementia Friends go to dementiafriends.org.uk or contact the Alzheimer’s Society Care Line on 0845 306 0898.