Scarlet House joins forces with Stroud District Council and local retailers for Dementia Friendly Di

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May 17, 2016

Scarlet House care home in Stroud is partnering with Stroud District Council this Dementia Awareness Week for a series of open day events which will be held on Tuesday 17 May to launch Stroud’s Dementia Friendly District campaign.

Local people are invited to Stroud District Council’s offices in Ebley from 2-5pm to talk to representatives from the Alzheimer’s Society, Age UK and Gloucester Older People’s Alliance. They will be on hand to answer questions on funding, carers’ allowances and what support is available in Stroud for people living with dementia and their loved ones. 

There will also be two free Dementia Friends’ sessions at Ebley Mill, from 1-2pm and 6-7pm. Dementia Friends is an initiative from the Alzheimer’s Society designed to change public perceptions and encourage better understanding of dementia. These sessions aim to support local people to understand what it is like to live well with dementia and help Stroud take a step closer to becoming a dementia-friendly community.

Jim MacLeod, customer relations manager at Scarlet House and a Dementia Friends champion, said: “We're excited to be partnering with Stroud District Council for what promises to be an interesting and informative day of events. At Scarlet House we have a commitment to encourage others to learn about dementia and to broaden their understanding, which is why we're opening our doors during Dementia Awareness Week.”

Emma Keating Clark, health and wellbeing coordinator at Stroud District Council, said: “We're delighted to be working closely with Scarlet House to launch our Dementia Friendly District Campaign. This is a brilliant opportunity for us to join forces and support this important initiative. We want to educate people, but also help the community to turn their knowledge into action to make our district more aware of those living with dementia. There are brilliant groups all over our district and we hope this campaign supports their work and helps to connect people living with dementia to the community around them”.

Midcounties Co-operative, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose Stroud have all signed up for Dementia Friends training for their staff.

Ian Matthews, store manager at the Midcounties Co-operative Food in Cainscross, said: “Dementia affects a huge amount of people and,as a Co-operative, we feel it’s our responsibility to work in partnership with the local community to help those with the condition to continue to live an independent life. By working with Scarlet House and Stroud District Council we can help to educate and train our colleagues and the wider community about the importance of causes like Dementia Friends, which will make a valuable impact to the lives of those in our community.”

Wendy Light, Waitrose Stroud, added: “We're extremely pleased to be supporting this campaign and we hope by attending the awareness sessions we will be able to increase our support for our customers with dementia.”