Dementia Awareness Week - 2023
29th May - 4th June 2023
This week, we’re celebrating ‘Dementia Awareness Week’; a chance to get people talking about dementia in order to challenge stigma, create connections and raise awareness about the support available in our community. It all starts with ‘hello’!
Inverclyde is working to become a Dementia Friendly Community – a place where people with dementia are understood, respected and supported in a community that is aware, inclusive and accessible. We all have a part to play in helping Inverclyde become dementia friendly and we’re delighted to have 23 community assets signed up to the initiative so far! ; demonstrating their commitment to take part in an awareness session and consider changes that could be made to make their environment more dementia friendly.
In order to challenge the stigma that still surrounds dementia, it's vital that we continue to raise awareness and really start talking about dementia quite openly. Things like thinking about the language that we use, can really help to challenge stigma and make a difference to the way someone feels, and the way that they are perceived and treated by others. For example, we should refrain from using phrases like, ‘dementia sufferer’ as this paints a much more negative picture than ‘a person living with dementia’. People with dementia are individuals, and their diagnosis should not be referred to as the defining aspect of their life – “Dementia is just one thing about a person – not everything” (Alzheimer Scotland). Having a better understanding of dementia and the impact that it can have on someone’s life helps us to understand the ways in which we can offer support as a community.
To mark Dementia Awareness Week 2023, we are delighted to share that the ‘Shipbuilders of Port Glasgow’ sculpture (or ‘Skelpies’ if you’re from Inverclyde!) will light up purple, and we’ll be holding a number of information stalls throughout Inverclyde where people can find out more about the Dementia Friendly Communities initiative and the support that is available locally.
If you’d like to find out more about the Dementia Friendly Communities project and how you can help to make Inverclyde dementia friendly, please get in touch with Bethan on 01475 728628 or email bethan.dunsmore@yourvoice.org.uk. Remember, it starts with ‘hello’!
