Time to start talking and include people with dementia in Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Action Week

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Alzheimer’s Society is urging people of Lincolnshire to join their #AskUsAnything campaign during Dementia Action Week (20-26 May) by including people with dementia and starting a conversation.

Local events throughout Dementia Action Week will help people to start a conversation and unite against dementia, which affects 11000 people in Lincolnshire. Local events will include:  
 

• 20 May – Dementia Action Week in the Legends Lounge at Lincoln City FC from 10am to 4pm. Includes a Singing for the Brain session at 12.30pm, Dementia Friends Information Session at 2pm and Country Dancing at 3pm.
• 20 May – 24 May – events throughout the week at Age UK Lincoln and South Lincolnshire  with supporting organisations providing information and advice.
• 21 May – Relaunch of the Grantham Dementia Café at Belton Park Golf Course from 10am to 12noon.
• 21 May – Dementia Friends Information Session at Meridian Leisure Centre in Louth at 2pm.
• 22 May – Coffee morning and information from Alzheimer’s Society staff at Boston Library from 10am to 12noon.
• 23 May – Dementia Friendly Skegness events at Barratt Court from 12.30 to 1.30pm and 2pm to 3pm
• 24 May – Dementia Friends Information Session at Skegness and District Hospital from 12.30pm to 1.30pm
• 24 May – Alzheimer’s Society information stand at Louth Market from 10am to 3pm. Alzheimer’s Society will also be encouraging local businesses to pledge an action to be more dementia friendly.
• 26 May – Dementia Friendly Cinema screening of Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again at The Savoy in Boston at 12noon.

The campaign is announced as research shows that despite almost all of us knowing someone affected by the condition, two-thirds of people living with dementia report feeling isolated and lonely.

People living with dementia have starred in a video to answer questions that are busting myths and showing that people with dementia are still the same people.

As part of the #AskUsAnything campaign, everyone is urged to share the video – that will appear on Alzheimer’s Society’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and in cinemas across the UK – far and wide throughout Dementia Action Week. Public awkwardness and anxiety plays a part in the isolation that people living with dementia experience – over half of the general public reported that they didn’t feel confident inviting someone with dementia to a meal at home.

In the UK, one person develops dementia every three minutes so small acts of kindness such as calling a relative with dementia, visiting a neighbour or becoming a Dementia Friend, can help towards creating a dementia-friendly generation.

Phil Measures, Alzheimer’s Society Services Manager in Lincolnshire said:

“Many people are worried about ‘saying the wrong thing’ to someone with dementia, yet a friendly face or listening ear can make the world of difference. Even in the later stages of dementia when having a conversation might become difficult, keeping in touch can bring feelings of happiness and comfort, especially as the ‘emotional memory’ remains with them long after the memory of the visit may have gone.

“We all have a role in Lincolnshire to help create a dementia-friendly generation, changing the way people think, talk and act about dementia. There are currently around 2.8 million Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Friends in the UK and 400 dementia-friendly businesses and communities.

“Alzheimer’s Society is determined to make sure no-one with dementia has to face a future alone. We are here to support anyone affected by dementia and it can start by finding a local event near you this Dementia Action Week. Unite with us now atalzheimers.org.uk/DAW.”

Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Friends programme is the UK’s biggest ever initiative to change people’s perceptions of dementia. It aims to transform the way the nation thinks, acts and talks about the condition, tackling the lack of understanding that means many people with the condition experience loneliness and social exclusion. The over 400 dementia friendly communities across England & Wales see local businesses committing to support their customers and employees affected by dementia. From the taxi driver to the hairdresser and the bus company to the newsagent, everyone can identify things they can do to support people with dementia to live the lives they want and be involved in their local communities.