What is a dementia friendly community, and why does it matter?

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By Lowri Morgan, Dementia Programme Manager, Cwm Taf Morgannwg Regional Partnership

To mark Dementia Action Week (19-25 May), we’re sharing a series of blogs written by members of our dementia team and NHS colleagues who lead work to improve dementia care in regions across Wales.

View our dementia pages to see how we’re working together to make Wales dementia friendly.  

One of the best things about my job is listening to people’s stories. Whether it was nature or nurture, growing up in Merthyr certainly gave me the skills to spark conversations with most people!

As the Dementia Programme Manager for the Cwm Taf Morgannwg Regional Partnership, I have the privilege of working with and listening to many people, from frontline professionals to community members.

When people ask what I do, I say, “I try to make things better for people living with dementia and their families.” While this involves service improvement—from early diagnosis to ongoing support—it also means creating more accepting, inclusive, and safe environments.

Why is this important?

People have told us that they’d like opportunities to “still be me”, and sometimes living with dementia can feel like there is a label on them. Stigmatisation is a challenging part of people’s experiences, and in fact, research from Alzheimer Society Canada shows this can be more devastating than the diagnosis itself.

To tackle this, we must create dementia-friendly communities where, as the Alzheimer’s Society puts it, “people with dementia are understood, respected and supported.”

Creating a dementia friendly Cwm Taf Morgannwg

A few years ago, we led a Community Listening campaign to understand what people with dementia and their families need to feel supported and included in our communities. We spoke with over 500 people in Pontypridd and Gilfach Goch. While people celebrated the sense of community and the beauty of our landscapes, areas including transport, information sharing, and better dementia-friendly activities were identified as gaps for improvement.

One of my biggest learnings is realising that listening is not just one way – it is a dialogue and a shared understanding. Sarah, one of our Community Listening volunteers, said the project was “the best thing I’ve ever done”. She joined the Community Listening project in Gilfach Goch after struggling with mental and physical health issues.  

Inspired by Sarah’s story? Watch her film.

By chatting to local community members, Sarah learned how isolating living with dementia can be, particularly in a new environment. Sarah was so inspired to act; she developed the idea of ‘Craft Yourself Calm’. Having experienced feelings of stress herself, she knew crafting would help relieve anxiety and worries.

Sarah, like many others, shows what is possible. One of the strongest messages and challenges we have heard is the importance of “building communities that care”.

So, how can we inspire community action?

We first need to understand what being dementia-friendly looks and feels like to us across Cwm Taf Morgannwg. While this term is used widely, we want to be able to quantify action and the feelings associated with it.

For instance, we know that for people with dementia and their carers, ‘dementia friendliness’ can mean acknowledging that everybody experiences dementia differently. Simply showing respect, kindness, and support can help people feel comfortable, relaxed, and safe in whichever space they choose to be in.

During Dementia Action Week, we will talk with various community members, including those who have no experience of dementia. Our Community Connector workstream, within the Regional Partnership, will then use these insights to develop a plan to build skills and knowledge in our communities.

By embarking on small acts of kindness now, we can create a lasting impact for generations to come.

Help us with our research

Do you live in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Bridgend or Merthyr Tydfil? Please fill in our survey so we can understand what a dementia friendly community means to you.

Resources

In the meantime, the Alzheimer’s Society has helpful resources on their website here.

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