Colchester Borough Council has been recognised for its continuing efforts to raise awareness of dementia among staff and residents.
The council, which is a member of the Colchester Dementia Action Alliance (CDAA), was recently accredited and awarded Working towards becoming a Dementia Friendly Community status.
As a founder member of the CDAA, alongside partners One Colchester, the council works collaboratively with a range of organisations to make Colchester a more dementia-friendly community and help those living with dementia, and their carers, gain access to the services and support they need to fully participate in community life.
Each CDDA member must develop an action plan and make pledges to enable this to happen, which are submitted, along with evidence of achievement, for accreditation by Alzheimer's UK's Dementia Friendly Communities.
The council achieved its accreditation by raising awareness through Virtual Dementia Tour staff training sessions and will continue to offer further training opportunities via its partners, including Community360, Age Well East and Alzheimer's UK, through online and in-person awareness sessions.
Cllr Julie Young, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Communities, said: “We all know or will have someone touch our lives in the future with dementia. As a dementia-friendly organisation, we believe a huge difference can be made to the lives of all those living with dementia if people around them understand the difficulties they face.
“That is why I'm delighted this award recognises our ongoing efforts to raise awareness and sign-post support among our staff and others. Only by being armed with a better understanding of the life-changing impact dementia has on families and wider communities will we be better able to improve the lives of all those affected by this terrible illness now and in the future.”
Page last reviewed: 8 August 2022