Stroud district becomes "Dementia Friendly"
Published: Wednesday, 11 May, 2016
Care UK’s Scarlet House care home in Stroud is partnering with Stroud District Council this Dementia Awareness Week for a series of open day events which will be held on Tuesday 17th May to launch Stroud’s Dementia Friendly District campaign.
Local people are invited to Stroud District Council’s offices in Ebley from 2pm-5pm to talk to representatives from the Alzheimer’s Society, Age UK and Gloucester Older People’s Alliance. They will be on hand to answer questions on funding, carers’ allowances and what support is available in Stroud for people living with dementia and their loved ones.
There will also be two free Dementia Friends’ sessions at Ebley Mill, from 1pm-2pm and 6pm-7pm. Dementia Friends is an initiative from the Alzheimer’s Society designed to change public perceptions and encourage better understanding of dementia. The sessions aim to support local people to understand what it is like to live well with dementia and help the district take a step closer to becoming a dementia-friendly community.
Jim MacLeod, customer relations manager at Scarlet House and Dementia Friends champion, said: “We are excited to be partnering with Stroud District Council for what promises to be an interesting and informative day of events. At Scarlet House we have a commitment to encourage others to learn about dementia and to broaden their understanding, which is why we are opening our doors during Dementia Awareness Week.”
Emma Keating Clark, health coordinator at Stroud District Council said: “We are delighted to be working closely with Scarlet House to launch our Dementia Friendly District Campaign. This is a brilliant opportunity for us to join forces and support this important initiative. We want to educate people, but also help the community to turn their knowledge into action to make our district more aware of those living with dementia. There are brilliant groups all over our district and we hope this campaign supports their work and helps to connect people living with dementia to the community around them.”
Midcounties Co-operative, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose Stroud have all signed up for Dementia Friend training for their staff. Ian Matthews, store manager at The Midcounties Co-operative Food in Cainscross, said: “Dementia affects a huge number of people, and as a Co-operative we feel it’s our responsibility to work in partnership with the local community to help those with the condition to continue to live an independent life. By working with Scarlet House and Stroud District Council we can help to educate and train our colleagues and the wider community about the importance of causes like Dementia Friends, which will make a valuable impact to the lives of those in our community.”
Wendy Light, of Waitrose in Stroud added: “We are extremely pleased to be supporting this campaign and we hope by attending the awareness sessions we will be able to increase our support for our customers with dementia.”
This year’s Dementia Awareness Week runs from 15-21 May 2016.
Situated in Ebley, Scarlet House is a state-of-the-art care home designed to deliver the very best standards of care, and to enable residents to live active and fulfilled lives. The home offers a range of services including residential care, specialist dementia care and respite care.
For further information on Scarlet House or to book a place on to Dementia Friends sessions, visit www.careuk.com/ or call customer relations manager, Jim Macleod, on 01453 807241 or email: jim.macleod@careuk.com