The session held at Blue Bell House, Northallerton for people living with dementia used archived sports images, reports and memorabilia to stimulate conversations and memories, such as reminiscing about a place they used to play football, sporting events they attended, or watching an iconic sporting moment on the television and remembering how that felt.
Chris Riley from the Alzheimer’s Society says “Hambleton District Council have really embraced Dementia Awareness. It is a pleasure to be involved with such an understanding and committed group of staff and members who are always so enthusiastic in seeking ways that they can improve the daily lives for those living with Dementia and their carers.”
12 months ago the council signed up to the Dementia Action Alliance to become a dementia friendly council and developed an action plan which so far has:
- delivered dementia awareness sessions to over 200 members of staff
- trained staff to deliver Sporting Memory sessions
- signed seven council buildings up to be a Safe Place – this national initiative provides a ‘safe place’ for people who need extra support to go if they need help. Each ‘Safe Place’ is clearly identified by displaying the nationally recognised logo in the window. Many people who benefit from the scheme never actually use them directly but the existence of the schemes allows them to lead more independent lives
- signed up to the Amateur Swimming Association’s dementia friendly swimming project to create a safe and friendly swimming environment for people with dementia. Members of the council’s leisure management team have recently attended a training session to learn more about the scheme
- encouraged Leisure Centre customers to complete in the ‘Swim for Dementia Challenge’ during Dementia week.
Dementia Action Alliance encourages and supports communities and organisations across England to take practical actions to enable people to live well with dementia and reduce the risk of costly crisis intervention.