Dementia Friendly Sidmouth

Sid Valley Memory Cafe launched Dementia Friendly Sidmouth this summer as part of the Alzheimer’s Society’s dementia friendly towns initiative.

We’re working to help and encourage local community groups and businesses to respond positively to the needs of growing numbers of residents and visitors who have dementia. Memory Cafe is partnered in this campaign by Sidmouth Hospice at Home, Sid Valley Help and Sidmouth Town Council.

Our plan is to persuade as many enterprises as we can to take up our free training in how to recognise, speak to and serve people who are beginning to struggle with dementia symptoms. It’s a win-win for people who need sympathetic treatment from suppliers of goods and services and for those who look to supply them.

Need for action

Around half of us will be affected by dementia either as a carer for someone with the condition, a friend or family member, or by developing it ourselves. One in three of us will be diagnosed, usually in later life, with a brain disease that will lead to dementia.

More than half of Sidmouth’s population is over 60 years old, so, whether we know it or not, all of us will meet regularly someone who has dementia. Further, it is estimated that around double the number of people in the Sid Valley are living with dementia than have received a formal diagnosis.

In working to raise awareness about the challenges of living with dementia, Memory Cafe, through Dementia Friendly Sidmouth, wants to encourage greater understanding and compassion in the wider community toward families affected by dementia. We want them all to feel understood, supported and respected.

What you can do

We are offering Sid Valley businesses and community groups free online training for staff or volunteers to become truly dementia friendly. Training takes the form of a one-hour video course accredited by The Alzheimer’s Society.

Following a visit to your business, Dementia Friendly Sidmouth will award you with a colourful logo to display on your premises; promote your organisation through digital channels and you will also be listed with the Sidmouth Tourist Information Centre as a dementia friendly business.

To find out more, go to the Dementia Friendly Sidmouth website at Dementia Friendly Sidmouth or contact  anne@dementiafriendlysidmouth.org.uk

Photo Credit (deck chairs): Geraldine Linley