Five Bullet Friday (14 September 2018)

Kevin and I attended the Life Changes Trust Gathering in Perth. A highlight included presentation from staff at the British Deaf Association.

The ‘Transforming the Deaf Dementia Experience’ Project, is a community interest initiative that supports Deaf people living with dementia and their carers. The project aims to promote a better understanding of dementia by developing accessible resources, information, and toolkits in British Sign Language (BSL). Their dedicated web page has some excellent resources and information

I attended the opening of the new Town Break Garden at the Day Therapy Unit at Stirling Community Hospital. I was able to introduce Sarah Kjellman (landscape architect intern with Paths for All) to staff and visitors and we spent time meeting people and admiring the hard work which has gone into the garden. The new space will benefit people attending the Town Break Clubs held at the Day Therapy Unit. Sarah has written draft guidance notes on dementia friendly environments and is looking for a small group of people living with dementia and carers to give some feedback on the guidance. Sarah’s e mail is: Sarah.Kjellman@pathsforall.org.uk.

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to speak to Agnes Houston again this week. We covered many topics one of which was the Hawkhead Centre in Paisley. The centre is open to anyone who is a member of Scottish War Blinded. Membership is free and they welcome new membership applications. Scottish War Blinded supports anyone who has served in the armed forces at any point in their life who is now living with sight loss. It is not necessary to have lost sight as a result of time in service to become a member. The majority of their members have lost their sight in later life due to old age and illnesses like glaucoma and macular degeneration. Agnes thought this was important to highlight this service considering sight loss can be a symptom experiences by people living with dementia and there may be former members of the armed forces who would benefit from joining the Hawkhead Centre and not know they would qualify.

With the inclusion and equalities in mind for Our Connected Neighbourhoods I met with Sarah Noone from the Central Scotland Regional Equality Council to discuss opportunities for crossover between our projects, and potentially collaborating. Sarah is Dementia Project Worker on the Dementia and Care in our Communities project, a new initiative which seeks to support people affected by dementia from BME backgrounds in the Forth Valley. Sarah will also be joining our partnership group.

Just a wee reminder we now have a Facebook page.

And you can find us on twitter @InclusiveSFV.