The Alzheimer’s Society is celebrating what it claims to be the largest social movement for any disease as it reached its millionth “dementia friend” – people who sign up to learn more about the condition.
Research from the charity shows that nearly two-thirds of people with dementia experience loneliness and almost half report the loss of friends following their diagnosis. It launched Dementia Friends two years ago to tackle the stigma and lack of understanding that see so many people with dementia facing social exclusion. Run with Public Health England and funded by the Cabinet Office and the Department of Health, Dementia Friends uses face-to-face sessions with volunteer advisers in communities, schools and workplaces, and online videos to help explain dementia.
Gary Whiting, 61, diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2012, says it is doing a good job: “Over the years I’ve noticed that dementia awareness has increased. I’ve had some really positive experiences in local shops with kind and patient staff. Dementia Friends is a great initiative – sometimes people don’t understand the day-to-day realities, and taking time to understand how it affects people is very important.
“My diagnosis was a real shock, but it also allowed me to better understand what was happening to me when doctors took the time to explain the effects of the disease. I’d lost my concept of time, and shopping was becoming very difficult because I’d go out and buy things I didn’t need.”
Celebrities including Ruth Jones, Alesha Dixon, Eamonn Holmes and Pixie Lott have become Dementia Friends, as have Labour leader Ed Miliband and more than 100 other MPs.
Jeremy Hughes, chief executive of Alzheimer’s Society, said things were beginning to change for the better: “More research and improved health and care services are fundamental to our work. But the real revolution is the million ordinary people who have chosen to become Dementia Friends. In communities across the country, they are working to eradicate the isolation, fear and despair so many affected by dementia feel. Dementia is our biggest health challenge and the British people are rising up to tackle it.”
■ For more information or to sign up, visit dementiafriends.org.uk
