Horndean care home invites community to rally together for dementia walk

A Horndean care home is calling on local people to put their best foot forward and help raise awareness of dementia.

Team members from Care UK’s Pear Tree Court, on Portsmouth Road are set to embark on a lengthy 2.6-mile walk on Tuesday 21^st May – and are encouraging the community to join them.

The ambitious stroll, which will begin at the home at 3pm and finish at The Precinct in Waterlooville will give walkers the chance to take in local sights, as well as making pit-stops at well-loved pubs along the way. Team members will carry donation buckets with them to raise funds for Dementia UK.

The special activity is taking place to mark this year’s national Dementia Action Week, and also coincides with a wider initiative by Care UK, which has launched ‘The Big Dementia Conversation’ in a bid to encourage people to talk more about the condition. As part of the initiative, a poll of 2,000 Brits found despite dementia becoming increasingly common, misconceptions remain because of a lack of knowledge about it.

Aimee Sparks, Home Manager at Pear Tree Court, said: “Research shows only one in 10 people claim to be very familiar with the signs someone may be experiencing dementia.

“While much has been done in the way of raising awareness of the condition, there are still a lot of things people don’t know or aren’t comfortable talking about. Big events like this really help to get those conversations started.

“We can’t wait to put our best feet forward and hope to see as many faces as possible walking with us to help raise much-needed awareness and funds.”

Pear Tree Court is a state-of-the-art care home which provides full-time residential, nursing and dementia care, as well as short-term respite care. Designed to enable residents to live enjoyable and fulfilling lives, the care home has its very own cinema and hair salon, and there is plenty of space both indoors and out for relaxation and recreation.