This month I’ve reached 33 people through talks on dementia – I visited the Catholic Women’s League in Richmond on April 19th and gave a talk for Alex Hollands’ fundraising event at Molesely Boat Club on April 26th. At both events good questions were raised about dementia, for example – where is the proof that surrounding people with furniture from the 1040s and 1950s (practice in some care homes) is beneficial for people with dementia? Do ‘brain training’ games really work? And why have I set up a new dementia charity when there is already Dementia UK and the Alzheimer’s Society? Re the latter question, Pathways has been set up because I am keen to visit employees in their workplaces and deliver lunchtime seminars about dementia and planning ahead – something that neither Dementia UK nor the Alzheimer’s Society are doing. I am also available to give talks anywhere in the country on the legal implications of living with dementia (paying for care, managing finances, making advance decisions etc). Again Dementia UK and Alzheimer’s Society staff are generally focussed on other areas of support (day centres, dementia cafes, helplines…) And finally, when I left my role as Legal and Welfare Officer at the Society in December 2009 the helpline I ran in the afternoons for calls about the law and welfare benefits was closed. I can answer those kinds of queries by email now through this email address:
swilcox@pathwaysthroughdementia.org
If you would like the answers to the above or any other questions please get in touch; if you know of any businesses dedicated to carers in the workplace or any community groups that need a speaker I’d love to hear from you!
Kind regards,
Sara