Awarded Dementia Friendly Certificate

My team along with Jessica Morden’s have been awarded certificates following our dementia friendly training on Friday 9th September.
I took part in the training to get involved with World Alzheimer’s Month. This September marks the fifth global World Alzheimer’s Month, an international campaign to raise awareness and challenge the stigma surrounding dementia.

My office along with Jessica Morden’s are the first political offices in Gwent to complete the session.

Both Newport politicians and their support staff took part in the session, provided by the Alzheimer’s. The training included case studies and role playing activities to give a clearer idea of what dementia is like for those who suffer and their families.

I hope to become local champions for the campaign, to encourage Newport and the surrounding areas to become Dementia Friendly.

One in 14 people suffer with dementia, but far more people are affected by it than just those with the disease. Most of us will know of someone suffering, and the impact it can have on families can be really difficult.

We need to break down the stigma that surrounds dementia. It is not a normal part of ageing, it is a brain disease that indiscriminately affects people of all ages at all times. Through understanding more about dementia and how it affects people, we need to learn to see the person rather than the disease, and in that sense to treat it like any other medical condition.

It is so important that we make the changes necessary in our society to accommodate the needs of people who suffer and their families.