About Dementia Friends
About Dementia Friends. Good Shepherd welcomed 10 new Dementia Friends after they completed an information session on March 8th. Dementia Friends is a global movement developed by the Alzheimer’s Society in the United Kingdom and is now becoming a huge movement in the US. Currently there are over 10,000 Dementia Friends in Minnesota. The goal is to help everyone in a community understand 5 key messages about dementia, how it affects people and how we each can make a difference in the lives of people living with the disease.
Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Friends program is the biggest ever initiative to change people’s perceptions of dementia. It aims to transform the way the nation thinks, acts and talks about the condition. Dementia Friends is about learning more about dementia and the small ways you can help. From telling friends about the Dementia Friends program to visiting someone you know living with dementia, every action counts.
Dementia Friends 2018 Challenge
It’s a new year and Minnesota is now the Land of 10,000 Dementia Friends. What an accomplishment! How high can we go in 2018? If you attend an Information Session in your community or sign up for a Champions training and then present a Dementia Friends session, you can be part of Minnesota’s lead role in showcasing Dementia Friends across the U.S. Let’s keep it going!
Dementia Friends is a global movement that is changing the way people think, act, and talk about dementia. Developed by the Alzheimer’s Society in the United Kingdom, the Dementia Friends initiative is underway in Minnesota. By helping everyone in a community understand what dementia is and how it affects people, each of us can make a difference for people touched by dementia.
What is a Dementia Friend?
Being a Dementia Friend simply means learning more about dementia, putting yourself in the shoes of someone living with the condition, and turning your understanding into action. From visiting someone you know with dementia to being more patient in a shop queue, every action counts.
To become a Dementia Friend, you participate in a one-hour Dementia Friends Information Session presented by a Dementia Friends Champion. You will learn five key messages about dementia and a bit about what it’s like to live with dementia. As a Dementia Friend, you turn your new understanding of dementia into a practical action that can help someone living in your community. Your action can be big or small – because every action counts! If you are interested in becoming a Dementia Friend, please contact Jodi at 320-258-9364.
What Happens at a Dementia Friends Information Session?
The one-hour Information Session is an in-person experience run by a Dementia Friends Champion. It is not a formal training. The session has activities and discussion that cover the five key messages everyone should know about dementia. Everyone who attends is asked to do a dementia-friendly action as part of becoming a Dementia Friend, but the choice is yours.