Dementia awareness sessions coming to schools

Friday 03 January 2020

Taxi drivers, hairdressers and other people who likely come across those living with dementia on a regular basis will be the focus of Dementia Friendly Guernsey's awareness sessions this year.

The charity has been delivering the awareness sessions to the island community for three years now, and has seen 3,400 different people, from youth groups to politicians, and from builders to doctor's surgery receptionists.

The popular sessions offer an interactive way to understand more about dementia, and include five simple steps for people to keep in mind on how they can better help those with dementia to live better. The first one of these sessions of 2020 is set to take place next week on Tuesday, 7 January.

Julie Bulpitt, the charity's Dementia Awareness Coordinator, said in the 45 minutes they try to squash some myths about the illness and also teach people about what exactly dementia is, and what it does. 

Pictured: One of the events DFG organised in 2019 was at the cinema, where they all watched Mamma Mia together because of the music in the film.

"Everyone that has been to the sessions has said how helpful they have been, because it could be anyone that is touched by dementia, whether it be a relative, or someone at work. It could even be as simple as having a better of understanding of someone in front of you who is being slower than usual in the supermarket," she said.

"We have a lot of sessions coming up this year, and we have another session with Arts for Impact as well. We are going to be targeting taxi drivers and hair dressers lots more because of how often they come across the illness in their work. We also have a really exciting opportunity to start going into the schools. We have been given accreditation to go in for Key Stage Two PSHE lessons, and in May we are going to approach the High Schools as well."

Ms Bulpitt added that they had now noticed their sessions were doing more than just raising awareness, because of a ripple affect that had been caused. She said there had been instances of schools raising money for the charity, and people individually doing more to help people living with dementia after having attended the sessions.

Pictured: The charity hosted a carol service because of how important music becomes to people with dementia. 

This extended to supporting other charities like Arts for Impact, which is important for Dementia Friendly Guernsey because of the link art has to people with dementia, as a way to connect with them. This also goes for music and singing - and so last year, the charity held a number of music events, including a carol service over Christmas. 

If you are interested in attending a session this year, or organising one for a group, you can contact the charity on info@dementiafriendly.gg or call 263132. They take place at the Guernsey Alzheimer's Association Centre, Rue des Monts in St Sampsons, next to the Catholic Church. 

Pictured top: Wayne Bulpitt, the charity's Chairperson.