Meetings

Do you work with or know people who are housebound and could benefit from the Vale Libraries Home Library Service? This Service uses volunteers to deliver books to people in their homes. This free service is ideal for anyone who can no longer get to a library themselves because of disability, mobility or other issues. Every four weeks a volunteer will drop off a bag of books for the reader and collect the previous month’s books.

The volunteer can bring books in a number of formats – ordinary print, large print or talking books on CD. All the reader has to do is give the volunteer an idea of the kind of books they like – books by a particular author for example, or historical fiction, crime, romances or non-fiction – there’s loads to choose from!

If you think this service might be just what you are looking for or if you know of someone who could benefit from it, please call Melanie on 01446 422419 for more information.

www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/libraries

Barry has been working towards being dementia friendly since November 2015. We a partnership of agencies, businesses and not least community volunteers, have formed a steering group to take forward this important agenda. We meet bi-monthly to share the workload of promoting the dementia friendly community ethos at a local level. The initiative is an Alzheimer’s Society project and like the dementia friends work aims to involve communities across Wales.

We are working from an action plan kindly given to us by Cardiff South East who had established a dementia friendly community from 2014 to 2015. To become dementia friendly, a community needs to embrace the dementia friend’s initiative. We are encouraging agencies, community groups and businesses to have members who are Dementia Champions rolling out the friends programme after attending a one day course. Or for members, staff and volunteers to attend dementia friends briefing sessions a commitment of about one hour. In return all friends and champions are given a fine blue flower lapel badge to wear with pride.

We have produced a Kite Mark for agencies businesses and community groups to attain dementia friendly status. To do so those wishing to attain status need to follow a simple seven step checklist. Once this is achieved they will receive a certificate of merit and a window sticker to show they are dementia friendly. There is an obvious return for all, especially businesses as their customer base is sure to include those experiencing dementia and their carer’s. We have the following Strapline: Enabling people affected by Dementia to continue to live fulfilled lives in Barry. Also a Vision: Our vision if for Barry to become a community that is committed to supporting and respecting the needs of people with dementia and their Carers. We are attempting to break down stereotypes and show that people are not defined by dementia; rather they are individuals who should be an active member of their community.

This pilot is now being rolled out across the Vale and we will be dementia friendly Vale.

Being a dementia friend only requires you to be more aware of dementia and alert to supporting those who are experiencing dementia. My father who set up the first ever paramedics in Wales eventually died from vascular dementia. In his mid-stages of the condition he used to attend a day centre to offer his partner some needed respite. The unit was secure but dad who was fit worked out a great escape and slipped past a visitor and headed off at great speed. Several police patrol cars and my wife and I failed to locate him. Eventually an anonymous citizen informed the police that they had found my father in a confused and distressed state. They drove him to Mc Donald’s bought him a coffee and asked the staff to keep an eye on him until the police arrived. So it’s not rocket science both the concerned citizen and the Mc Donald’s staff were dementia friends that day.

Cowbridge, Penarth and Dinas Powys wish to attain friendly status if you are interested please check for further information on the Alzheimer’s Society website. If you wish to transform your community you are welcome to any of the resources we have developed.

John Porter Older People’s Strategy Coordinator Vale of Glamorgan Council

There are currently 850,000 people with a diagnosis of Dementia in the UK which is forecasted to rise to more than a million by 2025. In Wales there are 45,000 people living with a diagnosis of Dementia, with the diagnosis rate in Wales currently only 43%.
There are also more than 40,000 people under the age of 65 living with dementia in the UK and an estimated 670,000 people in the UK acting as primary, unpaid carers for people with dementia.
These figures suggest that in any organisation there will be individuals who are directly affected by dementia – either developing symptoms and receiving a diagnosis themselves or supporting a family member or friend living with dementia.
An Alzheimer’s Society survey revealed that 69 % of people living with dementia said the main reason they stop going out is due to a lack of confidence. In public facing roles there will be individuals that are directly engaging with a range of people affected by dementia. Encouragement and support from your organisation will help people living with dementia to remain part of the community, be more active in the local area and live better, more fulfilled lives.
Becoming a Dementia Friendly organisation will have direct benefits for staff affected by dementia but also makes good business sense.

• It’s the right thing to do
• It will help you to retain staff
• You will become an employer of choice
• It will future proof your organisation
• It will contribute to increased productivity
• You will be fulfilling your legal responsibilities