The City of Wolverhampton will be marking Dementia Action Week 2018 with more than a dozen free events and activities for people living with dementia and their carers – from information and advice sessions to poetry readings and exercise classes.
This year's Dementia Action Week, which is organised by the Alzheimer's Society and takes place from 21-27 May 2018, will encourage everyone to take actions big and small to improve the lives of people affected by dementia. The Alzheimer's Society estimates that one person in the UK develops dementia every three minutes.
The highlight of the wide-ranging programme organised by Wolverhampton Dementia Action Alliance is an information and advice morning at the Bob Jones Community Hub on Tuesday 22 May from 10am-12.30pm, at which people can find out more about the services available to people living with dementia in the City of Wolverhampton.
Please see the poster in the downloads section of this page for more information.
A range of service providers will be present, the City of Wolverhampton Council will be showcasing its Telecare assistive technology equipment and there will also be guidance on benefit entitlements. FBC Manby Bowdler Solicitors will be providing information about Power of Attorneys, and advice will also be available from Wolverhampton’s Carer Support and Memory Matters teams.
People can become Dementia Friends – and better understand issues facing people living with dementia – by attending a free Dementia Friends training session at the Grand Theatre on Tuesday 22 May from 2.15pm-3.30pm, while the Alzheimer's Society will be raising awareness among commuters at Wolverhampton railway station on the same day from 4pm to 5.30pm.
Special Walking for Health walks and exercise classes in the Easyline gym will be taking place at Wednesfield Community Hub, Well Lane, on Thursday 24 May from 10am-3pm, while Memory Matters will be meeting shoppers at Sainsbury's St Marks on the same day from 10am-2pm to raise awareness of memory concerns and share tips about living better with a diagnosis of dementia.
Wolverhampton Police and the City of Wolverhampton Council's Trading Standards team will be raising awareness of scams – and how people can prevent themselves from falling victim to them – at HSBC in Queen Square on Monday 21 May from 11am-2pm and Waitrose, Penn Road, on Friday 25 May from 10.30am-3pm. The Trading Standards Team will also be on hand at Age UK, Darlington Street, on Tuesday 22 May from 1pm-3pm.
St Aiden's Church on Mount Road in Penn is holding two events to mark Dementia Action Week – a Beetle Drive on Friday 25 May from 2pm-4pm and a Posh Afternoon Tea on Saturday 26 May from 2pm-5pm – while the Church of the Epiphany in Oxley is holding a dementia friendly service on Sunday 27 May starting at 10.45am.
Meanwhile, Light House Cinema on Fryer Street is offering carers and the person they care for discounted tickets to see the films Edie and That Good Night between 25 May and 31 May, with tickets priced at just £2.50.
A little further ahead, popular poet Mandy Ross will lead a morning of poetry and song, entertaining people living with dementia with gentle humour and activities, at East Park Library on Monday 11 June from 10am-noon. This event is organised by Poetry on Loan, Wolverhampton's library service and the Carer Support Team, and people will also be able to find out more about the Memory Matters service.
For more information about Dementia Action Week events in the City of Wolverhampton, please contact Susan Eagle on 01902 555344 or via susan.eagle@wolverhampton.gov.uk or visit www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/dementia
For more information please visit www.dementiafriends.org.uk
People who are worried about dementia can contact the Alzheimer's Society for information and support either via the National Dementia Helpline on 0300 222 1122 or by visiting www.alzheimers.org.uk
The City of Wolverhampton was officially granted Dementia Friendly Community status by the Alzheimer's Society in December 2017 in recognition of the efforts being made to improve services for people living with dementia, and their families and carers.