Dementia friendly Communities, an initiative by the Alzheimer’s Society, aim to help families living with dementia and their carers feel safe, supported and able to remain involved in community life. There are more than 100 Dementia Friendly Communities in the UK and Tamworth Dementia Friendly Community became part of the Staffordshire & Stoke-on -Trent Dementia Friendly Community network in January 2017.

As an incentive to create a Dementia Friendly environment, Alzheimer’s Society, have created a Dementia Friendly Status award, which allows Dementia Friendly Communities to display the “Working to become Dementia Friendly” Logo on correspondence & literature.

This award is not given lightly, & to continue to receive the award, Dementia Friendly Communities have to produce a plan of action & a performance log to demonstrate progress.

Tamworth Dementia Friendly Community has achieved this Dementia Friendly Status award every year since its formation in 2017.

Progress includes:

• The creation of the Tamworth Dementia Friendly Community Group – a partnership of stakeholders working together to improve the lives of local families living with dementia
• Tamworth DFC members include:
  • Tamworth Borough Council
  • the police,
  • fire service,
  • health care services and providers,
  • community groups
  • businesses.
  • Local families living with dementia
• The roll out of Dementia Friends awareness sessions to Tamworth councillors, Tamworth Borough Council staff members, businesses, schools & colleges, organisations and community groups in the area, have been delivered by local Dementia Friends Champions and Tamworth’s Community Together CIC, resulting in the creation of more than 5500 Dementia Friends
• Engaging with local families living with dementia and their carers to help to shape our activities to meet their needs.
• The group established a ‘Memory Café’ for people living with dementia and their carers Led by Tamworth DFC members Home Instead Senior Care, Heart of Tamworth Community Project & local Alzheimer’s Society volunteers, the café opened initially at St John’s Church in May 2017, having quickly outgrown the space there, it is now situated at The Sacred Heart Church in Glascote.
• Tamworth Borough Council ensure that all of its services are accessible to people living with dementia, from paying a bill to attending a show. This includes text reminders for payments, appointments and bin collections.
• National Dementia Action Week is an annual Alzheimer’s Society initiative to highlight the impacts of Dementia & promote actions for improvements. Dementia Action week is now embedded into the town’s Events Calendar, & always includes a number of workshops and events

Tamworth DFC members have been responsible for hosting various events in the town, such as a singing group and support groups, a twiddle muff campaign, the creation of a dementia friendly sensory garden in the Castle Grounds and take part in an annual week of action to raise awareness and funds for dementia services.

Chairman of Tamworth Dementia Friendly Community, John Edwards, said: “It is wonderful to see our town maintain its Dementia Friendly status and that many people are helping to make life better for those living with dementia and their carers. The response from the people of Tamworth to the work of Tamworth DFC has been fantastic."

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