Events planned as Tamworth joins Dementia Action Week

Dementia Action Week 15 -21 May Series of activities and events planned across the Tamworth Everyone welcome, no pre-booking required

A series of events have been planned to raise awareness about dementia as Tamworth and Tamworth Borough Council joins national Dementia Action Week.

A packed week of events including coffee mornings, singing and dementia awareness sessions, is taking place in the town between Monday 15 May and Sunday 21 May.

It is the sixth year that Tamworth has taken part in the national event since being granted Dementia Friendly Community status in 2018, to help improve the lives of local people living with dementia.

More than half of UK adults know someone who has been diagnosed with dementia. And the numbers of people with dementia are expected to grow.

Dementia Action week aims to raise awareness of dementia and the importance of early diagnosis.

Activities are being organised and co-ordinated by the Tamworth Dementia Friendly Communities Partnership; a partnership of stakeholders working together to raise awareness and improve services locally. Tamworth Dementia Friendly Communities Partnership includes Tamworth Borough Council, the police, fire service, health care services and providers, community groups and businesses.

The various events aim to either support people living with dementia, to help others understand what it is like for those living with the condition, or to raise money for vital equipment and services.

The week of events begins on Monday 15 May with a dementia awareness stall in Ankerside between 10am and 2pm. There will be a Dementia UK volunteer ambassador on hand to answer any questions.

On Tuesday 16 May, the Memory Café at Sacred Heart Church, will host a ‘market place’ where people can come and gather information and seek advice and support. The session runs from 10.30am-12.30pm. If you know someone living with dementia or memory loss, come along, no pre-booking is necessary.

Dementia Friends are holding a session also on Tuesday 16 in Ankerside from 10am -2pm.

The Alzheimer’s Society are running a stall in Morrisons supermarket on Tuesday 16, raising awareness of dementia and answering any questions. They will be in the main store at Wilnecote in the morning 9am-12pm moving to the town centre store from 2pm-5pm.

On Wednesday 17 May, Thursday 18 and Friday 19, a dementia awareness raising alzheimer’s stall will be available in Ankerside from 10am - 4pm. Alzheimer’s volunteers will be at hand to answer any questions.

A Dementia Friendly Cuppa and Chat will also return on the Wednesday at 11am-1pm.

Everyone is invited to the Singing for Fun session hosted on the Thursday at The Hub in the Castle Grounds from 10.30am – 11.30am.

An additional dementia and alzheimer’s awareness raising stall will be available on Saturday 20 May at Tamworth market, weather permitting.

Dementia awareness services will be held at the weekend at the following churches:

• St John the Baptist from 6pm on Saturday 20 May and from 10.30am on Sunday 21 May
• Sacred Heart Church from 9am and 12 noon on Sunday 21 May

Social prescribers will be in the following GP practices raising awareness of dementia and answering questions on the following days:

15 May – Peel Medical Practice 9am until 12noon

17 May – Aldergate Medical Practice 9am until 12noon

18 May – Crown and Hollies Medical practices 9am until 12noon 

Everyone is welcome to all the events and no pre- booking is required. Further details can be downloaded via the Dementia Friendly page of Tamworth Borough Council’s website at www.tamworth.gov.uk/dementia-friendly.

Tamworth Castle will also be honouring Dementia Action Week with the exterior lighting switched to blue for the seven days.

As an official Dementia Friendly Community, a lot of work has taken place in Tamworth to create a place in which people living with dementia, including carers, feel understood and supported, with access to the services they need.

This includes building an army of Dementia Friends - people who have undergone a short awareness session, to give them a basic understanding of dementia and some of the issues it can create for people living with it. According to latest figures, Tamworth has more than 5,000 Dementia Friends, 10 Dementia Friends Champions and more than 760 Digital Friends.

Work is co-ordinated through the Tamworth Dementia Action Alliance, a growing partnership of businesses, community groups and organisations, working together to raise awareness and improve services.    

Chairman of the alliance, John Edwards, said: “Every time a person becomes aware of the difficulties faced by those living with dementia and carers, life becomes easier for those affected. Tamworth can be rightly proud of the progress that has been made and the determination to do more in the future.”

Becoming a Dementia Friend can be done online or in person and takes less than an hour. Visit www.dementiafriends.org.uk or contact Tamworth Borough Council’s lead officer for Dementia Friendly Communities, Karen Clancy, on 01827 709565.