Above: Narrabri Dementia Friendly Town Committee members, back, Trudy Schatz, Margo Carberry, Mayor Cathy Redding, Anne Williams, Sue Voysey, front, Jane Linehan, Joan Griffiths, Cheryl Pawley and Kylie Finlay.
Narrabri is well on its way to becoming a dementia-friendly community with 43 people registering to become ‘dementia friends’ at a recent training event.
Narrabri Dementia Friendly Town committee organised the forum with the support of HealthWISE.
Committee member Kylie Finlay said the new ‘dementia friends’ received certificates and badges, and left with a greater understanding of what dementia is, and were encourage ‘to do small everyday things that could make a big difference to a person living with dementia’.
“Our community is committed to creating a dementia friendly community in Narrabri through education events such as this one,” said Mrs Finlay.
“Our group members range from business owners, health professionals, people caring for locals with dementia, and community members with a deep commitment to the cause mostly due to already having a relative or friend with dementia.
“We will continue with these ‘small step’ education and promotion events, as part of our community engagement ethos.
“Our next major event will be on Tuesday, September 4, which is in Dementia Awareness month,” she said.
HealthWISE’s integrated care manager Anne Williams told attendees that the community often doesn’t know how to respond when they discover someone has dementia and she wanted to raise awareness and make it a ‘casserole worthy disease’.
“We can say ‘we’ve heard your news and we’re here to help’,” Ms Williams told the crowd.
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