Mary Macleod MP encourages local residents to become Dementia Friends

Last week, Dementia Friends, an initiative run by the Alzheimer’s Society, launched a new campaign to encourage people to become Dementia Friends. The campaign follows the story of Gina, a woman living with the dementia, whose friends and neighbours are able to make a difference to her day to day life by simply understanding the disease. A number of celebrities have also signed up to promote the cause.

In February, Mary and her parliamentary team took part in Dementia Friends Training, a scheme which hopes to dispel some of the rumours surrounding dementia and broaden people’s awareness of the disease.

One of the Alzheimer’s Society’s biggest aims is to spread the word that anyone can be a dementia friend, even if you don’t know anyone living with the disease, and with the campaign launched last week, they are aiming to build a network of a million Dementia Friends across England by 2015.

Mary has signed up to be a Dementia Friend and would encourage as many local people as possible to do the same. If you would like to learn more about how to become a Dementia Friend and take part in the training, please visit dementiafriends.org.uk or contact the Alzheimer’s Society Care Line on 0845 306 0898 or [email protected].