Remembering Not To Forget

What to do if you’re worried that someone you know might be showing signs of dementia.

Online forum run by the Alzheimer’s society. You can search previous threads for information on a particular topic or start a thread of your own.

An invaluable source of information and support from other people living with dementia.

A national project that brings together people’s diverse experiences of living with dementia as a series of audio diaries.

It serves as a public record and a personal archive that documents the day-to-day lives of people living with dementia, with the aim of prompting a richer dialogue about the varied forms of the condition.

A project which aims to challenge the way people think and talk about dementia and to inspire local communities, organisations and businesses to become more aware and understanding of dementia.

The website has many inspiring resources: images, videos, stories, blogs, audio diaries, reports and toolkits.

A range of dementia related publications produced by the Alzheimer’s Society (but covering different types of dementia)

An app which translates words into pictures. For people living with dementia words can become increasingly hard to understand, making communication and social interaction difficult.

Images, on the other hand, can retain their meaning long after the sense of a word has been lost.

This means that for most people living with dementia an image communicates an idea or emotion more clearly than a word.

At the moment it is only available in care home settings, but a version for personal use is in development – you can sign up for updates.

By going along to one of these sessions you can learn more about what it’s like to live with dementia and the small ways you can help to make communities more dementia friendly.

You can also train to become a Dementia Friends Champion, and run information sessions yourself. If you’re interested, have a look at what options there are close to you:

A Community Interest Company which emphasises the rights and potential of people with dementia. They work with people living with dementia to influence dementia policy and practice and issue a monthly newsletter with updates on innovations in dementia.

Run by Admiral Nurses, the helpline can give you specialist practical and emotional support, over the phone or by email.

A Community Interest Company which aims to enable people living with dementia, and their families, to enjoy nature.

They run holidays and trips as well as offering training, consultancy and research.

A project building services for people living with dementia, aiming to prove that dogs can help to maintain eating, sleeping and waking routines, keep people with dementia active and engaged with their local community, as well as providing a companion who will reassure when facing new and unfamiliar situations.

Lists of books you might find helpful if you have dementia, are caring for someone with dementia or would like to find out more about the condition.

The books provide information and advice, support for living well, advice for relatives and carers, and personal stories.

They are endorsed by health professionals and can all be found in local libraries.

An emotional account of one family’s experience of dementia, interspersed with accessible information about dementia and research.

You can follow Where Memories Go on Facebook for regular updates on research and interesting dementia related articles.

Playlist for Life (see below) was founded by Sally, and was one of the recipient organisations for 2014 funds.

Supporting the current focus on living well with dementia, this book shows how to carry out Life Story Work with people with dementia in a variety of settings. Focusing on the practicalities of carrying out life story work and highlighting its benefits, this book also includes case studies which will inspire the provision of individualised care.

A charitable company based in Oxfordshire. Their services are focused in the Oxfordshire area, but their website offers a wealth of information about early onset dementia.

An awareness raising group based in Eccles, Manchester promoting safe places for people living with dementia and their carers.

An online services directory produced by the Alzheimer’s Society

Memory cafes offer a space for people living with dementia and their carers to come together, socialise and take part in different activities.

This independent directory allows you to search for a memory cafe in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

It also includes venues with music and singing facilities.

The Taunton Memory Cafe was a recipient of funds raised in 2014.

The Dementia Engagement and Empowerment Project (DEEP) brings together groups of people with dementia from across the UK, and supports these groups to try to change services and policies that affect the lives of people with dementia.

They put together guidance to ensure that dementia is described in an accurate, balanced and respectful manner.

Funding from Remembering Not to Forget will be used to help set up a DEEP group in Exeter.

A service provided by the Alzheimer’s Society, using singing to bring people together in a friendly and stimulating environment.

It is based on the idea that singing is not just an enjoyable activity, but can also provide a way for people with dementia, and their carers, to express themselves and socialise with others in a fun and supportive group.

Services are often run alongside memory cafes.

The Taunton Singing for the Brain group was a recipient of funds raised in 2014.

A charity encouraging the use of personally meaningful music in the care and treatment of people with dementia, helping families to create a playlist of personally meaningful music to help unlock memories.

A recipient of funds raised in 2014.

Provide expert advice, information and support (including a telephone helpline), connect carers and campaign on issues affecting carers.

The Carers Trust work to improve support, services and recognition for carers. They carried out research into the challenges faced by people caring for someone living with dementia, which you can access here.

Read about how Remembering Not to Forget funds are supporting the Carers Trust in using this research to campaign for better services for carers of people living with dementia.

A social centre providing day care and supporting people with mental health problems, physical disabilities, are frail or who may be dependent upon others. Two days a week are focused on supporting people living with different forms of dementia. A recipient of funds raised in 2014.

For information about Taunton Memory Cafe & Singing for the Brain groups, please contact us.