Dementia focus in Aberfeldy
Aberfeldy is taking steps to become a more dementia-friendly town.
People from the Aberfeldy community and surrounding areas are invited to attend a day of dementia awareness events on Tuesday, August 28.
Several speakers will be in Aberfeldy Parish Church, invited by a group of Aberfeldy residents, interested in the impact of living with dementia and wishing to explore what as a community they can do to help.
“The event is for everyone, as we want to reach as many people as possible, including people with dementia and their families,”said Janette Barrie.
“We heard about dementia-friendly communities and wanted to know more. There are dementia-friendly communities all over the world.
“To become dementiafriendly, it doesn’t always mean a lot of money or a major redesign of anything. It’s about learning a little about the condition and how it affects people, so we can all do some simple but practical things that can make a huge difference.
“Tuesday afternoon begins with meeting everyone at 1.30pm. The afternoon goes forward with several speakers and a look at technology that can help make life easier for dementia sufferers.
“As well as hearing what the speakers have to say, it would be great if we heard the views of people who live in, work in or visit Aberfeldy. We’ll have an interactive session where we ask:‘What does a dementia-friendly Aberfeldy look like? What can we as a community do to make it happen?’”
Michelle Miller, national leader for Focus on Dementia is coming along to share her experience of dementiafriendly communities in Japan and how Prestwick achieved dementiafriendly status.
Another guest, Ruth McCabe, will be sharing her experience of Glenrothes.
Heading towards the event’s close at 4.15pm, there’s a session on Living and Learning with Dementia by the Life Changes Trust and words from Fiona Matthews of Alzheimer’s Scotland.
Janette added:“All we ask, is that those interested let us know they are coming along for catering purposes, email me at janette.dfag@ gmail.com”