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A local charity wants you to get together with friends for a bite to eat and help Islanders with dementia.
Jersey Alzheimer's Association has launched 'Meals for Memories' to raise awareness of the disease and help spread the word about the work that they do.
One of the charity's volunteers Sue Le Gallais who has seen the effects it has had on both her parents and her grandmother came up with the idea to get more people together friends or family for breakfast, brunch, lunch, afternoon tea or supper and find out more about dementia.
(Pictured: Sue Le Gallais)
Sue said: “I wanted to do something positive. Mum’s not too bad at the moment, she can live independently but I’ve met a lot of people who are struggling and don’t have family in the Island.
"There’s three strong elements to it – the initial idea is to gather people around a meal of some kind. The second is talking about dementia and the third is learning more about the work of Jersey Alzheimers Association.”
Her big idea launched last week with a special lunch at Government House, hosted by His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor Sir John McColl and Lady McColl, the charity's patron.
Special placemats with dementia facts lined the table and everyone who lunched pledged to host further Meals for Memories.
Sue is now planning on spreading the word from the dinner table to the pulpit. She is one of the wardens at Trinity Church and has just organised a workshop to find out how the church can be more understanding of people in their congregation living with dementia. She's now planning on spreading the word to more of the Island's clergy.
She said: "There are a lot of misconceptions about dementia out there, as with a lot of other physical illness, and it is a physical illness. No two patients present with exactly the same set of symptoms, so this will give an understanding of the variety of symptoms and to understand how to communicate with them.
"You can’t go up to someone with dementia and ask them half a dozen questions. It’s a hugely challenging scenario for them simply because the pathways in their brain don’t function in the same way they do in ours, it takes a lot longer to work out what the response is.
"Asking questions puts them on the spot and is stressful for them, so it’s more important to speak with them in more general terms, you have to be quite intuitive. It’s a different way of communicating."
You can find out more about hosting your own event here or you can email m4m@jerseyalzheimers.com
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