Building a Dementia Friendly Community Our North Lanarkshire Story “Numbers satisfy the analytical part of the brain but stories touch the heart” Sandra Shafii AHP Dementia

Start with a Thank You!  For inviting me  For being interested in our work  For seeing it as a key component of your local strategy “The person and their carer are enabled to live a full life with personalised, high quality and well-coordinated support within a community that values them.”

The only time you should look back is to see how far you’ve come

4 A dementia friendly community is composed of the whole community - shops, public services, faith communities, organisations, businesses, emergency services, transport and community leaders - who are committed to work together and help people with dementia to remain a part of their community and not become apart from it. This involves learning about dementia and doing very simple and practical things that can make an enormous difference. What do we mean?

In the beginning……….  We listened to what people with dementia were telling us  They told us about what was important to them  About who was important to them  And where was important  And why staying connected to their personal and local communities was important

A Perfect Storm  Match with policy and strategy  Match with health and wellbeing indicators  Match with “Quality of Life”

Where have we got to?  Working all 6 North Lanarkshire Townships  South Lanarkshire catching on!!!  Shared learning with 23 other areas in Scotland  Dementia Friendly Community Toolkit on Alzheimer Scotland website ( )  Presenting at Alzheimer Europe Conference and Masterclass  Shared our work UK nationally, with Europe and beyond (conferences and workshops)  Writing a report for publication in October

Recognition  COSLA Award for Excellence “One to Watch” category 2013  Highly commended in UK MJ Local Government Achievement Awards 2013 “Achieving Better Outcomes” category  Scottish Dementia Award for Best Dementia Friendly Community Initiative 2013  EFID Award - March 2014

Setting up for Success  People - Partnerships  People - Teamwork  Preparation  Planning  Passion  Shoe leather!

Working Group Built on Partnerships  Critical foundation  Statutory, public and third sector, people living with dementia and more!  Link up the work with national and local policy and strategy – this is real 20/20 vision!!!!  It resonates with coproduction, asset-based approaches and community capacity  Clarify the mandate and level of decision making that each team member brings  Discuss funding support and sustainability early on  Recognise that it is not about control!!!!!

The Right People in Your Team  Qualities and attributes  Knowledge and skills  Expert communicators  Willing to work flexibly  Visionaries ….plus……  Lovers of Detail  Practical hands-on people  Warm, friendly, engaging, energetic and inspiring

Preparation is everything!  Define your community and research it….what do you know? What are the local social and community issues?  Gather population facts and figures (data)  Find out about any other projects and initiatives underway…think about links  Who are the community leaders and activists?  Hold focus groups….what matters to local people living with dementia? What, who and where are important to them?  Explore your chosen community based on the above  Draw up your list of targets!!!!

Plan your campaign!  Prioritise your list  First wave – what’s manageable?  What would have the biggest impact?  Who might want to be the first?  Research your businesses. What do they stand for  Use what’s happening elsewhere to your advantage!  Make promises!!! Go for the Win/Win!!!  Publicity, training etc….. And build these new relationships!!! Everyone will benefit!

Publicise your success  Talk about any success you have locally – get excited!!!  Talk about what is going on across Scotland and beyond  This gives credibility to your work and helps build confidence in your businesses  Keep building on your achievements  Use a wide range of media including social media

Proof of Concept???? It is definitely a good idea!  Good ideas have legs. They travel well!  Good ideas have heart. They get to us at our values and connect us around what matters  Good ideas have hope. They are about possibility and potential  Good ideas are powerful. They can shift thinking and behaviour, have impact and can bring sustainability

Leading with passion will inspire others to action

Putting Promises into Practice  We have the policy and emerging health and social care partnerships  We have the policy promises  We need to translate policy into an “on the ground” reality for people  We need to breathe life into the fine words!  We need to feel we are truly changing the world That’s why you are in the room today!!

Passion AND Shoe Leather  Hard work? Maybe!!! But rewarding!  Dementia is an agenda that unites us all…be prepared to hear the stories!  You need energy and enthusiasm  You need creativity  You need to believe that you can make a difference…and you can!  Now you need to get out there and Just Do It!

NEVER DOUBT that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has Margaret Mead

Go Aberdeen!