‘It makes an awful difference’
An information evening in Macroom will encourage businesses and services in in the town to create a more nurturing and accepting environment for people living with dementia and their families.
The Alzheimer Society of Ireland (ASI) is hosting the Dementia Friendly Community information evening today, Thursday, in the Castle Hotel. The ASI has said people with dementia are among the most marginalised, socially excluded and highly stigmatised and to address the exclusion of people living with dementia, a new initiative has emerged on the landscape in the form of dementia friendly communities.
The evening will feature speakers such as the ASI Head of Operations, Siobhan O’Connor, the ASI Operations Project Manager, Donal Murphy, the ASI Dementia Adviser for West Cork, Vanessa Bradbury, and Chair of the Irish Dementia Working Group (IDWG) Kevin Quaid. The ASI will also inform attendees about the initiative and a toolkit for creating a dementia inclusive community.
The Dementia Friendly Communities toolkit contains various resources that will support organisations, businesses and communities to be more informed and enabled to support people with dementia and their loved ones to stay living well. It contains a guide that provides a practical framework based on the ASI’s experiences in helping communities become more dementia friendly.
An estimated 7,509 people are living with dementia in Cork, and 63% of people with dementia live in the community in Ireland.
Speaking ahead of the evening, the Head of Operations at The ASI, Siobhan O’Connor, said: “Our Dementia Friendly Community Information Evening is a fantastic opportunity to shine a light on dementia and raise greater awareness about its impact. We must overcome the stigma around the condition so that people with dementia feel heard, understood and valued and can live well in their communities. By listening, we understand so much more.”
Vice-Chair of the Irish Dementia Working Group, Kevin Quaid, said: “As a person with dementia, when I saw a sign in a shop door in a town that marked it as a dementia-inclusive community, it made me feel welcome to enter. It makes an awful difference to people living with dementia to know that a business is inclusive of them.
“I would like to see every village and town in Ireland become dementia-inclusive. Before you go into any business, you know the people inside know about dementia and can accommodate those living with the condition. Chances are it will start the
conversation and remove some of the stigma. This initiative has been a dream of mine for six years. I can’t wait for Macroom to become a dementia-
inclusive town; it’s such a treat to have it so near home,” he concluded.