At our Rotary meeting this week we heard from Angi McCluskey about the Forget-Me-Not-Cafes that she established to provide a safe community space for those with dementia and their families, friends, and support people to attend for some social interaction.
Angi, seen here with club President, Jodie and Rotarian, Peter spent some time this morning helping us better understand that Dementia can come in many shapes and forms. Most of which at this stage are not reversible, but shouldn't be considered to be a normal part of ageing. She spoke about her own experiences as her husband was diagnosed with dementia about 11 years ago. She noticed him losing connections with everyone - family and friends - and wanted to find away to redress that situation.
The first Forget-Me-Not Cafe was started in Roleystone and has now grown to some 37 Cafe around the state. The cafes are a place where people come to socialise and have a bit of fun and find others facing similar situations so people can support each other. They have a website and they are also on Facebook. They have a number of 'pages' on Facebook which cater for specific cafes around the state. To get one started, you need a 'champion' who is willing to get it set up and offer something on a regular basis - either fortnightly, monthly. They usually operate during the week - Monday - Friday only.
Some 500,000 people are diagnosed with dementia in Australia, but there are many more than that who have not as yet been diagnosed.
At the cafes they usually provide some activity for them to get involved in - such as singing, and playing table top games. They also have a lending library - which includes toys and headphones which members can borrow.
Angi indicated that those suffering from dementia often don't know when they are tired, or hungry, or thirsty, so when they wander off they just keep walking until they drop. She is working on finding ways to have a tracker available for people to wear so they can be easily found. So far she has come up with a number of barriers to success, including batteries going flat, or the people wearing them take them off and/or hide them as they like to fiddle with things.
She is also looking at how to provide some respite time for the carers so they can leave the person with dementia at a place, while they go off to the Doctor, Dentist, hairdresser or just to get the weekly shopping done in peace, or take time out for themselves to relax and unwind. The hope is to find a place near a shopping centre where the person can be left for an hour or so which would be free for those using the facility.
They have a book launch this Sunday at The Glasshouse, 215 Wright Street, Cloverdale at 10.30 am where they are launching a book called "Wishing for Memories". Everyone is welcome, but bookings are essential.
Thank you Angi you have given us lots to think about.