The Dementia Community Awareness Programme: Understand Together Campaign & Dementia Elevator Project Ann-Marie Coen Dementia Elevator Project, Dublin City University
What is the Dementia Community Awareness Programme? The Dementia Community Awareness Programme is a volunteer initiative led by the HSE, Understand Together Campaign and the Dementia Elevator Project, Dublin City University. The programme gives volunteers the skills and resources they need to deliver dementia education and awareness workshops to their local community business and services, as well as/ or dementia education and skills workshops for family carers.
In doing so, we want to increase national awareness and understanding of dementia provide opportunities for motivated people to increase dementia awareness in their communities ensure that high quality dementia awareness resources are utilized on a national level and create support systems within communities so people with dementia can live active and meaningful lives for as long as possible.
www.understandtogether.ie
Understand Together is a public support, awareness and information campaign, led by the HSE working with The Alzheimer Society of Ireland and Genio, aimed at inspiring people from all sections of society to stand together with the 55,000 Irish people living with dementia. The ultimate aim is to create an Ireland that embraces and includes people living with dementia, one which displays solidarity with them and their loved ones
The campaign is building partnerships with a wide network of national and local organisations including the voluntary and community sector, academia, business, faith, culture and sports here are some of our new partners:
www.dementiaelevator.ie Dementia Elevator is a national dementia education and empowerment programme developed by DCU and the HSE to help individuals, communities and health systems engage appropriately with people with dementia. The main motivation behind Elevator is to ensure that there are people in communities with the right skills to make staying at home a more obvious choice than is currently the case for people with dementia.
Programmes for Public Services
Dementia Coping Skills for Families and Carers
Dementia Community Awareness Programme Aim: To increase national awareness and understanding of dementia, and of how to provide appropriate support to people living with dementia and their families.
Objectives: Dementia Community Awareness Programme To identify volunteer Dementia Awareness Facilitators in every county who can deliver a number of dementia education and awareness workshops in their local communities. To provide ongoing support to enable the facilitators to deliver the training. To acknowledge and promote the work undertaken by the facilitators. To capture qualitative and quantitative feedback on dementia awareness workshops
Who is this initiative suitable for? The programme is seeking expressions of interest from people who have a genuine willingness, interest and enthusiasm to promote dementia awareness in their local community. Ideally (but not essential) volunteers will have a good understanding of dementia, and have previous experience facilitating training/ education sessions.
Our commitment to Dementia Community Awareness Facilitators: To provide an induction session to enable the delivery of the dementia education and awareness workshops. To provide the necessary materials such as facilitator s packs, advertising materials, training videos and evaluation forms. To advertise upcoming education and awareness workshops organised by facilitators on the Elevator and HSE websites, social media or other channels as agreed. With the support of the National Dementia Office, to link dementia awareness facilitators with other individuals and groups in their communities who can support their work. To promote, support and acknowledge the work undertaken by the dementia awareness facilitators.
Dementia Awareness Facilitators commitment to the programme To have a genuine motivation and willingness to raise dementia awareness in local communities. To participate in a facilitator s induction session. To agree to deliver a minimum of four dementia education and awareness workshops per year. To prepare for and advertise the workshops with support from HSE/Elevator. To collate evaluation and feedback and forward to HSE/Elevator
Email: ann-marie.coen@dcu.ie Phone: 01 700 6190