A steering group has been set up to lead the way for Chorleywood to become a * Dementia Friendly village, as per the Prime Minister’s Challenge and the first meeting was held in early July at Sunrise Senior Living.
The group, led by Melanie Allen, Area Manager of Business Development at Sunrise Senior Living, includes representatives from Chorleywood Business Association, Chorleywood Residents’ Association, the Community Police, U3A, Rickmansworth Fire Station and others.
The Alzheimer’s Society is aiming to have 1,000,000 Dementia Friends by 2015, to help make the country more dementia-friendly and improve the lives of people currently living with the condition.
“The first Chorleywood meeting went extremely well” says Melanie, ” despite a freak storm meaning the Fire Brigade got called out! Councillor John Allan, who has led the way for Dementia Friendly Tring, talked about their successes and failures and how important it is to support the families who live with dementia as well as sufferers.”
Practical moves could include shops setting up a separate queue for the tills so that people who might take longer to pay are not pressurised by those behind them. Some high street banks have already taken this on board.
Future plans for the group include working with Chorleywood churches and schools to run sessions aimed at increasing dementia awareness,
“When children get an understanding they take it home to Mums and Dads.”
“We plan to run Dementia Friends sessions in Chorleywood which are about encouraging a better understanding.” adds Melanie, “People need to make adjustments to the way they do things. Families with dementia are often victimised in shops and restaurants because the person they are caring for might be acting unusually. Residents will be encouraged to be more tolerant with people who experience difficulties and to be alert to individuals who may be wandering around and confused. We hope to set up a Memory Cafe too which is as much about supporting carers as sufferers.
It’s the beginning of something – we have started the group and now the people are going to roll it out. It has worked for other villages and Chorleywood is very community based already so we are expecting it to be a complete success.”
* A dementia-friendly community is one in which people with dementia are empowered to have aspirations and feel confident, knowing they can contribute and participate in activities that are meaningful to them. – The Alzheimer’s Society
Look out for Chorleywood based Dementia Friend sessions in the autumn
www.alzheimers.org.uk/localinformation .
