Alzheimer Scotland’s Dementia Friends tour is aiming to help make the country a better place for those with the condition
Glaswegians are being invited to help the city become dementia friendly.
Alzheimer Scotland’s Memory Bus will drive into Glasgow on World Alzheimer’s Day, Saturday 21 September, to stage a Dementia Friends information event at the Glasgow Marriot Hotel.
With over 90,000 people living with dementia in Scotland and with few families untouched by the illness, Dementia Friends aims to transform the way the nation acts, thinks and talks about the condition, as well as challenging the stigma of dementia which still exists for thousands of families living with the illness.
The three-week tour of Scotland, which began in Troon on 2 September, aims to boost the number of Dementia Friends in Scotland to 90,000, one for each person living with dementia. The Dementia Friends event is a free to attend but advance booking is required, as spaces are limited.
Anne McWhinnie, Alzheimer Scotland’s Dementia Friends programme manager, said: “Being out on the road with the Alzheimer Scotland Memory Bus is a new and exciting project for us and is a great way for us to talk to new communities about what it is like to live with dementia and how individual and communities can turn this into a positive action.
“We have over 85,000 Dementia Friends in Scotland who have all committed to reducing the stigma of the illness by making the small but vital changes that will help people with dementia to feel understood and valued in our communities. Increasing Dementia Friends is a crucial step towards building a Dementia Friendly Scotland, where nobody should face dementia alone. Come along and speak to us in Glasgow on World Alzheimer’s Day and learn more about dementia. Together, we can make a real difference.”
The Dementia Friends initiative aims to give people more insight in to the condition and the everyday challenges people living with dementia face. It demonstrates the small changes that can often make a big difference to people living with dementia such as adapting how you speak, giving clear information, removing some of the challenges that can cause confusion and changing behaviour – such as simply being patient in a queue.
