TWO new meeting centres for those living with dementia are to be set up in Redditch and Bromsgrove thanks to a county-wide funding programme.
In January 2020, Worcestershire County Council and the six district councils of Worcestershire announced they would be investing £540,000 from the County’s Business Rates Retention Pilot to help local communities set up specialist dementia meeting centres to help support those living with the condition and their families.
An initial tranche of money saw the first six meeting centres approved by the joint University of Worcester and Worcestershire County Council Assessment Panel.and now funding for two further centres has been given the green light – for Redditch and Bromsgrove.
University of Worcester Fellow, Dorothy Wilson MBE, the independent chair of the panel said: “We were delighted to approve funding for another two centres.
“We look forward to building on the experience of established meeting centres and create opportunities for more people living with dementia and family carers across the county.”
Julia Neal, chief executive of Age UK Herefordshire & Worcestershire added: “We are delighted to be awarded this grant and are looking forward to developing the new meeting centres in Redditch and Bromsgrove over the next few months.
“Our established meeting centres have shown us what a difference this support can make to those with dementia and their families, especially the opportunity to be able to share and learn from others in similar situations as themselves.”
Meeting centres were originally developed in the Netherlands and were brought to the UK by the University of Worcester’s Association for Dementia Studies.
It’s designed to be a local resource, operating out of ordinary community buildings, that offers on-going warm and friendly expert support to people with mild to moderate dementia and their families.
At its heart is a social club where people meet to have fun, talk to others and get help that focuses on what they need.
