Dementia Friends information free to the public at Colchester care home

Home news

Mar 06, 2014

The award-winning team at Care UK’s Tall Trees care home, in Colchester, is sharing its specialist knowledge with members of the public who are interested in supporting members of the community living with dementia in a series of free meetings.

At the four standalone events in March and April there will be lots of information available on becoming a dementia friend. The Dementia Friends programme is an initiative from the Alzheimer’s Society that gives people an understanding of dementia and the small things they can all do to make a difference to people living with the condition - whether that’s helping someone find their bus or sharing knowledge about dementia.

The team at the home in Mile End Road will be joined for the training sessions by Anne Parameter, a Dementia Friends Champion for the Alzheimer’s Society, as part of the charity’s commitment to creating a network of one million dementia friends across England.

Home manager Katherine Foley said: “Dementia affects people’s senses and perceptions so the person literally does not see the world in the same way. Many things can cause confusion and distress such as patterns in curtains and carpets or mats by the door that can be seen as holes. New information also becomes more difficult to absorb.

“At a Dementia Friends information event you’ll learn about dementia and how you can help to make your community dementia friendly. These events are open to anyone who is interested and we would particularly encourage anyone working with the public to come along, because what you learn could help you help someone visiting your shop or office who has dementia.”

The individual sessions run on Wednesday 5 March between 2pm and 3.30pm and between 3.30pm and 5pm; and on Wednesday 2 April from 2pm to 3.30pm and from 3.30pm to 5pm.

Anyone wishing to attend can pop in: call Katherine on 01206 844425 for more details.