I was delighted to go along to St Laurence’s Church for the inaugural meeting of Stroud Dementia Action Alliance (SDAA), last week. This is an idea that has grown out of the work that John Colquhuon has been doing locally, notably the charity EngageD Now, and ties in with the wider network of Gloucestershire Dementia Action Alliances.
EngageD Now has been providing weekly lunches at the Grange View Independent Living Hub in Uplands (in partnership with Stroud District Council and Lilian Faithfull Care) for several years. There, guests come together to share a meal, stories, and friendship.
The new organisation hopes to build on this work and bring together a range of local organisations, businesses, GPs, voluntary groups, as well as residents, to make sure that Stroud is a town that works for everyone, including those living with a dementia diagnosis. The hope is to truly make Stroud a place where those living with dementia and their carers feel seen, supported, and truly a part of community life. It’s not simply about services, it’s about creating a spirit in the town that makes everyone feel welcomed and safe.
Jeremy Porteus, CEO of the Housing Learning and Improvement Network (and a former member of the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia), spoke about the importance of working across different sectors and the importance of a community approach, and Laura Beattie, Stroud Town Council’s Community Development Worker, led a workshop on exploring what a dementia-friendly Stroud could look like, and what role we all might play in shaping it.
There are many benefits to the approach being adopted by the SDAA. Community support is a much more efficient way of supporting those living with dementia and their carers than formal healthcare interventions (and much more cost effective). The approach is also a lot more resilient – and not subject to the cost priorities of the central government – it is funded and sustained by the community itself.
It also makes use of (and gains leverage from), existing and emergent community assets, which can go on to become resources for other initiatives – social prescribing, and so on.
The Stroud Dementia Action Alliance is looking for people and organisations to get involved, and invites everyone to think about what role they might play in making Stroud more inclusive and dementia-friendly.
The best way to find out more, or get involved, is through the (excellent and informative) EngageD Now website: https://www.engagednow.co.uk/
