Macroom moves towards dementia-friendly status

Macroom is hosting a dementia friendly community information evening in the Castle Hotel today, to encourage people, businesses and services in the area to transform the town into a dementia- inclusive community.

The event, organised by the Alzheimer Society of Ireland, gets underway at 7.30pm.

The evening will feature speakers including the society’s head of operations, Siobhan O’Connor; operations project manager, Donal Murphy; dementia adviser for West Cork, Vanessa Bradbury; and chair of the Irish Dementia Working Group, Kevin Quaid.

The society will also inform attendees about a toolkit to create a more dementia-inclusive environment. The dementia friendly communities toolkit contains various resources that will support organisations, businesses and communities to be more informed and capable of supporting people with dementia.

It contains a guide that provides a practical framework based on the society’s experiences in helping communities to work towards becoming more dementia friendly.

An estimated 7,509 people are living with dementia in Cork, and 63% of people with dementia live in the community. Ms O’Connor, said: “our dementia friendly community information evening is a fantastic opportunity to shine a light on dementia and raise greater awareness about its impact. We must overcome the stigma around the condition so people with dementia feel heard, understood and valued and can live well in their communities. By listening, we understand so much more.”

Vice-chair of the Irish Dementia Working Group, Kevin Quaid, said: “As a person with dementia, when I saw a sign in a shop door in a town that marked it as a dementia-inclusive community, it made me feel welcome to enter.

“It makes an awful difference to people living with dementia to know that a business is inclusive of them. 

"I would like to see every village and town in Ireland become dementia-inclusive.

“Before you go into any business, you know the people inside know about dementia and can accommodate those living with the condition.

“Chances are it will start the conversation and remove some of the stigma,” he said. “This initiative has been a dream of mine for six years. I can’t wait for Macroom to become a dementia-inclusive town. It’s such a treat to have it so near home.”