Entitled Dementia Friendly Communities: One Year On, the event was a collaboration between the Alzheimer’s Society and Suffolk’s Health and Wellbeing Board to celebrate the communities which have already created a Dementia Action Alliance in the past 12 months. These include Felixstowe, Hadleigh, Ipswich and Stowmarket
The event was also an opportunity to hear more about The Dementia Friendly Communities fund which offers grants of up to £2,000 to support dementia – related schemes and projects in Suffolk.
The Dementia Friendly Communities fund was set up by Suffolk’s Public Health team to support local projects to help people live well with dementia. It is administered by the Suffolk Community Foundation. The deadline to apply for the next panel round is 15 January 2016. Find out more at http://suffolkcf.org.uk/grants/dementia-friendly-communities/
In all, the event was a fantastic opportunity to hear, not only from groups and businesses who are doing great work to help people with dementia, but also from those affected by the disease. This is exactly what we should be doing here in Suffolk, we are laying the foundations to create the necessary environment for the increasing number of people expected to experience dementia in the years to come.
It is hoped the event will inspire many more to come forward and create their own dementia friendly communities across the county.