Melksham working towards becoming a dementia-friendly town

THE Melksham Community Area Dementia Action Alliance group is working towards making the whole of the town dementia-friendly.

The overarching aim of the group is to make sure that everyone from the Melksham community area living with dementia is respected and enabled to continue to participate in their own community as well as possible, for as long as possible.

To do this, the group will work in partnership across the community to develop practical actions to support those living with dementia and those who care for them. Organisations can undertake actions that are aimed specifically for people living with dementia and their carers, or they can commit to making their services and activities generally more dementia-friendly so that people living with dementia continue to feel able to participate.

Volunteers who make up the Action Alliance in Melksham aim to raise further awareness through ‘dementia friend’ sessions, increase the number of businesses and organisations signed up to the Action Alliance and improve the information and support available to carers of people living with dementia.

David Walker, who is an active member of the Melksham Dementia Action Alliance said, “We have been working hard to raise awareness of the small steps that we can all take within our community that can help those who have dementia and their carers.

“With almost 500 new dementia friends within Melksham we’ve made a good start, but there’s plenty more to do. Our main target in the coming months is to deliver more of the free, dementia friends sessions for local businesses and community groups, and increasing the number of organisations signed up to the Melksham Dementia Action Alliance.”

David won first prize in Melksham in Bloom for his garden which is  dementia-friendly. David can be contacted on ginavidwalker@ btinternet.com or 07836 509136.

There are also groups and activity sessions in Melksham; Memory Café at The Art House Café in Melksham, 3rd Monday of the month 3.45pm, Singing for the Brain, Seend Village Hall, every Wednesday 2 – 3.30pm and Movement for the Mind, Bowerhill Village Hall, 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month 10.30am – 12noon.

The Melksham Community Area Dementia Action Alliance welcomes support from across the community. If you are interested in coming along to a meeting or being involved in any way please email either Colin Goodhind colingoodhindofmcap@gmail.com or Sheila Ashley sheilaa@ alzheimerswiltshire.org.uk.