With over one thousand people currently living with Dementia in Stevenage; the Healthy Stevenage Partnership wants to work with people from Stevenage to make the town a Dementia Friendly Community.

About

Dementia is caused by a number of diseases that affect the brain. The most common is Alzheimer's, but diseases also include vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies and Pick's disease.

Different types of dementia affect the brain at different rates and in different ways, but other things like someone's personal circumstances, the people around them and the environment in which they live, will affect their experience of dementia. Dementia progresses in a way that is unique to each individual.

The word 'dementia' describes a set of symptoms that may include memory loss and difficulties with thinking, problem-solving or language. These changes are often small to start with, but for someone with dementia they have become severe enough to affect daily life. A person with dementia may also experience changes in their mood or behaviour.

It is true that more people over 65 have dementia but it is not exclusively an older person's disease; younger people get dementia too.

Stevenage

In England currently, it is estimated that there are nearly 770,000 people living with dementia. Locally, in Hertfordshire this number is around 16,000.

In Stevenage there are around 1,100 people aged 65+ living with dementia. This figure does not include people experiencing early onset of Dementia. That is why Stevenage Borough Council is working toward making Stevenage a 'dementia-friendly' town with key partners to create a better experience for residents and carers.

We formed a Healthy Stevenage Dementia sub-group working with a wide range of partners to achieve our goal.

Dementia friendly activities in Stevenage

We supported partners to conduct research with Alzheimer’s Society to find out whether people in Stevenage living with dementia knew about the physical activities available locally. People in Stevenage reported a lack of awareness, the Dementia Friendly Activities in Stevenage booklet.

This booklet is the result of a research project at the University of Hertfordshire and a partnership with Stevenage Borough Council and the support of NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) East of England.

To make sure it is accessible, the booklet was designed and formatted with the input of people living with dementia. You can download a copy of the Dementia Friendly Activities in Stevenage booklet in the ‘Related Documents’ section on the right hand side of this page.

We have printed a limited number of booklets, if you would like a physical copy of the booklet or would like to find out more about the Dementia sub-group, please email leisure@stevenage.gov.uk.