Campaign urges Plymouth residents to become dementia friends

Plymouth City Council is supporting the new national Dementia Friends campaign to help people develop an understanding of dementia and turn it into action to help people in their community living with the disease.

There are around 665,065 people in England who have dementia, and an estimated 21 million people in England have a close friend or family member with dementia. It is predicted that by 2015, 3,166 individuals in Plymouth will be living with dementia, rising to 3,667 by 2020. Two-thirds of people with dementia live independently within the community.

The campaign, launched by Public Health England and the Alzheimer's Society, is encouraging people to become a Dementia Friend by watching an interactive video online to increase their understanding of the disease and implementing their experience on a daily basis.

Plymouth is already leading the way in working towards becoming a Dementia friendly city and later this month, during Dementia Awareness Week (18 to 24 May) the Council will be launching its Dementia Friendly Toolkit to support local businesses and other organisations to become more dementia aware.

Carol Burgoyne, Director for People at Plymouth City Council, said: "One in three of us over the age of 65 will develop dementia, but people with dementia can live well, and it is the responsibility of the rest of the community to help them do so.

"If we take the time to understand the issues people living with dementia face, we can fully appreciate the challenges they have to overcome on a day-to-day basis. By participating in this short information session to become a Dementia Friend, you are playing a crucial role in helping us to take one step closer to creating a dementia-friendly society.

"In addition to the national Dementia Friends campaign, Plymouth's Dementia Action Alliance, which includes the Council as well as Plymouth University and the NHS, is working on a number of projects to raise awareness and understanding of dementia."

The Plymouth Dementia Action Alliance is open to organisations across the city interested in improving the experiences of customers and carers living with dementia.

Local work includes running awareness events for frontline staff and local businesses, and building links between the generations at Stoke Damerel Community College.

More information on the national Dementia Friends campaign is available on the Dementia Friends website.

You can also follow @DementiaFriends on Twitter and like Dementia Friends on Facebook.

A series of events are taking place in Plymouth throughout Dementia Awareness Week. More information on Plymouth City Council's dementia friendly work, including training opportunities, is available by emailing PlymouthDementiaACTI@plymouth.gov.uk or calling 01752 305519.

Events are taking place in Plymouth throughout Dementia Awareness Week supporting people to live well with dementia. The events are also open to carers.

Events

Boccia!
Central Library Plymouth, 
Tuesday 20 May 2014 at 1pm
Boccia is a Paralympic sport (similar to indoor bowls) which can be enjoyed by all.

For more information and to book a place, contact Larisa Milden on 01752 201891 or email active@plymouthguild.org.uk.

Guided walk
Wednesday 21 May 2014
Meet at West Park Library at 1.15pm
Free 30 minute guided walk along a flat route to explore this part of the city.

For more information and to book, contact Larisa Milden on 01752 201891 or email active@plymouthguild.org.uk

Roman Holiday
Thursday 22 May 2014
Plymouth Arts Centre at 11am
Special screening of Audrey Hepburn's classic film Roman Holiday.

For more information and to book contact the Box Office at Plymouth Arts Centre on 01752 206114.

Drop in events
For more information and support for dementia related issues staff from Plymouth Memory service and the Alzheimer's Society will be available at Drake Circus on Thursday 22 May or Plymstock Library on Friday 23 May 2014.