Stevenage’s dementia friendly work recognised
Stevenage has officially been recognised as working to become a dementia friendly community, after Stevenage Borough Council received an accreditation from the Alzheimer’s Society.
The council has worked with local partners to make the town a more dementia friendly place. The work includes holding regular events for people to find out what’s on offer locally for anyone living with dementia and their families and carers. It will also encourage more 'people places' to become dementia friendly and improve the information on the council website.
The Alzheimer’s Society also recognised the work the council has done over the past year, forming a dementia sub-group in Stevenage to work with partners in the community who are already working closely with people living with dementia and their friends, families, and carers. The group worked to find out what was important to them and developed a dementia friendly activities book. The booklet is the result of a research project at the University of Hertfordshire and a partnership with Stevenage Borough Council, with the support of NIHR Applied Research Collaboration East of England.
A coffee morning will be held on Thursday 7 December to celebrate the accreditation for anyone living with dementia, their family, friends, and carers. The event will take place between 9.30 and 11.30am at the council offices in the town centre and is free to attend. Anyone planning to attend should register their interest.
Mayor of Stevenage, Councillor Myla Arceno, said:
“This is the first time Stevenage has had this accreditation, and it follows a lot of hard work from officers to help make our town a more dementia friendly place to live.
“This recognition from the Alzheimer’s Society is the culmination of our efforts with local partners, residents, businesses, the University of Hertfordshire and the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration East of England, but our work doesn’t stop here. We will continue to make strides to make Stevenage an even better place for people living with dementia and their families and carers.”
Julie Churchouse, Dementia Friendly Communities Co-ordinator at the Alzheimer’s Society, said:
“I am so pleased that Stevenage Borough Council have received their Dementia Friendly Community accreditation from the Alzheimer’s Society. They have worked so hard with local community groups to ensure that Stevenage is a more dementia friendly place to live.
“One in three people born today will develop dementia in their lifetime. There are currently over 15,900 people living with dementia in Hertfordshire, with that figure set to rise by over 40% by 2030 to over 21,800 people. This work has never been more important or timely. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with Stevenage Borough Council on their future plans.”
To find out more about making Stevenage more dementia friendly and to download the Dementia Friendly Activities booklet visit our Making Stevenage a Dementia Friendly Community webpage.