A DEMENTIA Friends Champion from Dobcross will lead a project to develop Uppermill into a Dementia Friendly Community.
Helen Morris has been appointed by the Alzheimer’s Society as Services Manager of a small team who are completing the Big Lottery-funded scheme.
She first signed up as a Dementia Friends Champion 12 months ago and has been holding information sessions across Saddleworth to help people understand the condition and offer support.
And now in her now role, she is working three days a week with organisations in and around the area and is now also looking for volunteers to get involved in the initiative.
Helen enthused: “I must be the luckiest person alive to have been given this wonderful opportunity to work in an area I feel so passionate about and do so in my own community!”
“My first mission is to develop a small Project Steering Group which will basically direct the activities of my team to deliver immediate benefit for Uppermill and then extend this to all the villages in Saddleworth.
“I would love to hear from people who can join the project group or put their names down for a wider consultation once I have a venue and facilities arranged.”
The project, which is being carried out in six areas in Greater Manchester, must be completed in a certain way to ensure it is sustainable and that those helping out really commit to actions.
The framework contains a detailed programme, from linking into bigger organisations through to publicizing activities undertaken and evaluations of the results of the work done.
Helen added: “There are clear ‘outcomes’ required like reducing feelings of isolation and increasing the confidence of people living with dementia to live their lives fully, knowing they will be met with understanding and respect.
“I welcome this because it means we must do more than talk, although I know through my role as a Dementia Friends Champion that talking is extremely important.
“We must also act and that is how we will get real results and changes to the way we do things.”
Helen would also like to hear from any organisations which delivers services or support within Uppermill and its environs and who would like to get involved.
Meanwhile, Oldham East and Saddleworth MP Debbie Abrahams is also a Dementia Friend and has pledged to become a Dementia Friends Champion so she can hold awareness sessions.
Debbie, who provided respite care for her mother who had Alzheimer’s disease, will be the first MP in the country to train to become a champion as she hopes to help others going through a similar situation.
She said: “Developing a Dementia-Friendly Oldham is one of my top ten priorities in my constituency work.
“I’m proud to be joining with Oldham Council’s Dementia Partnership and Alzheimer’s Society to work towards a dementia-friendly Oldham by creating a local Dementia Action Alliance.
We want to break the stigma that people living with dementia face and raise awareness and understanding of the condition.”
Anyone interested in helping Helen with this initiative or finding out more can reach her by post at: Alzheimer’s Society, Dunham House, 85-89 Cross Street, Manchester M337HH. You can also email her at Helen.morris@alzheimers.org.uk or call or text her on 07740 178310.
For more information about the Dementia Action Alliance in Oldham watch this video on Youtube: http://youtu.be/fWvjkGoHu1A
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