BECOME A DEMENTIA FRIEND AT MEADOW VIEW
Can you spare just an hour to make a difference to the lives of those living with dementia?
Sarah Webber, a Dementia Friends Champion at Sanctuary Care’s beautiful Meadow View Residential Care Home in Hersden, Kent, shares her passion for spreading the word about the Alzheimer’s Society initiative.
The Dementia Friends campaign aims to help people to understand more about dementia by encouraging them to attend a short information session to learn more about the condition.
Sarah regularly delivers Dementia Friends sessions at Meadow View, which provides residential dementia care.
Keeping it simple
With five key messages, the sessions are a simple, but powerful way of changing people’s perceptions of dementia.
They ask you to keep five key messages in mind:
- Dementia is not a natural part of ageing
- Dementia is caused by diseases of the brain
- It’s not just about losing your memory
- It’s possible to live well with dementia
- There’s more to a person than the dementia
It’s the small things that make a difference
Sarah says: “The session includes lots of information about the impact dementia can have on a person, but also, the small things we can all do to make a difference. This could be through our words and the way we talk about dementia, to our understanding and actions we can take to better support those living with dementia in the local community around us.”
Take action
At the end of the session attendees then pick an action they’d like to take to make a difference.
Sarah says: “I attended one of their sessions to find out more and left inspired to deliver their message myself.
“After training from the Alzheimer’s Society, I am now proud to be a Dementia Friends Champion, for Meadow View Residential Care Home and deliver these sessions for the local community around us.
“As a care home which cares for older people living with dementia, this cause is close to all of our hearts and I am so pleased to be able to make a difference by delivering these talks. It is so rewarding to hear people’s chosen actions, from sharing what they’ve learnt with a friend, to choosing to become a Dementia Friends Champion themselves.”
Sarah holds the sessions on a regular basis, with the next one taking place on Tuesday 4 October at 6.30pm, so do get in touch if you’d like to become a Dementia Friend and help the home make a real difference to the lives of those living with dementia by emailing Sarah on Sarah.webber@sanctuary-housing.co.uk
