Every year, when Dementia Awareness Week rolls round, I think of how far we have come in the last year in terms of how we engage with people with dementia and their carers. Dementia Friends and Dementia Friendly Communities have made enormous strides in this area and are to be highly commended on their passion, drive and achievements. The Dementia Action Alliance continues to meet and discuss the areas of priority for our client group, and the Dementia Challenge conference next month builds on the government’s dedication to defeating dementia. Sadly I do see the phrase ‘dementia sufferer’ continually raise its ugly head in articles and TV programmes but I firmly believe that we are embracing the idea of living well with dementia and are continuing to demonstrate that people with dementia have a positive role to play in society. Hopefully our own little charity will continue to contribute by engaging with people face to face to take the fear out of the dementia journey.
