Local expo, action week support people with dementia

A FREE dementia expo in Geelong will provide insight into available support services and the latest dementia research news for local residents.

The event comes on the back of Dementia Action Week this week (September 18-24), which raises awareness for Australia’s second-leading cause of death.

Dementia Australia will host the Barwon Dementia Expo on Thursday (September 28) at Geelong West Town Hall, starting at 1pm.

Geelong geriatrician Dr Alexander Mander will present an overview of current research and the condition itself.

Stallholders will also provide information about local services available for people with dementia and their families.

Attendance is free, but organisers have requested registration of attendees at barwondementiaexpo.eventbrite.com.au

Meanwhile, Dementia Australia is using the action week to call for action on alarming new figures that indicate a lack of understanding about the condition is hurting people living with it.

The organisation says that 32 per cent of Australians found people living with dementia frightening, and that 80 per cent of people with a loved one with dementia felt people in shops, cafes and restaurants treated them differently.

Dementia Australia CEO Maree McCabe said government, businesses and community groups must work together to make communities more dementia-friendly.

“These are our parents, grandparents, friends and neighbours now and in the future, it could be anyone reading this who might be diagnosed with dementia.

“These are devastating findings. This fear leads to stigma and discrimination which can have a real and distressing impact on people living with dementia, their families and carers. People may avoid seeking critical medical and social support and become increasingly socially isolated.

“Dementia is a largely invisible disease and what we can’t see, we don’t understand and what we don’t understand we are often afraid of and then avoid.”