Dementia Friends

 

Bishop Nick has highlighted the subject of dementia in a recent communication with clergy and readers. As our population ages there is a chance that 1 in 3 of us could potentially develop some form of dementia in our lifetime. We are therefore ever more likely to have people with dementia in our parishes. There was an article about Dementia Friends in the last Diocesan News insert and information is on the Diocesan website. There is currently a national advertising campaign to raise awareness of dementia and to recruit more Dementia Friends.

Dementia Friends is:

  • A social action movement.
  • Funded by the department of Health for England and the Cabinet Office.
  • Led by Alzheimer’s Society as a strand of its work to create Dementia Friendly Communities.
  • Target to reach one million Dementia Friends by 2015.

When I attended the annual Reader’s Conference at Brunel Manor this year Sally Farrant (Diocesan Social Responsibility Officer) did a Dementia Friends information session for one of the workshops that I attended. This was a very good presentation and I decided that I could offer to do this. I then did a day’s training in Exeter to become a Dementia Champion which means I can deliver this prescribed hour long information session. The information is an introduction to the subject delivering 5 key messages.  I am willing to offer this session to any church group who may be interested. You can find out more about Dementia Friends on the website dementiafriends.org.uk or alzheimers.org.uk.

It is now also possible to do a Dementia Friends session online on their website.

If any group in your church would like me to present a Dementia Friends information session lasting up to 1 hour, please get in contact with me for more information and possible dates/group sizes. I’d like at least 10 people with perhaps a maximum of 20. It would be suitable for Pastoral Teams, PCC’s, or Mothers’ Union groups for example.

Sue Price (PTO Reader) Mission Community of Seaton and Beer

Tel: 01297 22314. Email: sueprice24@hotmail.co.uk

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *