Making Roscrea, Co. Tipperary a 'Dementia friendly' town

The second Dementia conversation was held on April 18th in the New Age Friendly Roscrea Venue - The Courthouse.

The conversation opened with the reading of a letter written by the spouse of a recently diagnosed person with dementia.

This articulate, heartfelt letter described the experience of knowing there was something wrong, suspecting it was dementia, the difficulty getting a proper diagnosis.

The letter writer went on to describe how life changes, how you transform from spouse to spouse/carer, the impact on your family, the awfulness of trying to access services and support, the financial implications and the challenges you face as you try to organise your life to take on this ever changing and increasingly demanding role. this is not a rare experience and many of the people there that morning could relate in a very personal way to its sentiments.

We know much can be done to make a better life for the person with dementia, their carers’ and the community at large, where you live and the services available can have a major impact on your quality of living.

As a community we must transform our town into a better place for people with dementia and their families. We ask all Roscrea citizens to look to their communities; retail businesses; health care providers; financial and legal offices etc., their premises and the services they provide and commit to joining this conversation and become more Dementia Friendly.

The next dementia conversation will take place on May 16th at 10am in the Courthouse. We will publish our action plan following this meeting.