ZUTPHEN – The Netherlands is aging and more and more people are affected by Alzheimer’s or other variants of dementia. “One in five people get it, among women it is even one in three,” says Yvonne Hendriks of Perspective Zutphen. Moreover, the current policy is that people with dementia no longer have to live behind closed doors. Together with professionals and local residents, Yvonne is therefore making an effort to make the neighborhood ‘dementia-friendly’, so that local residents can recognize signs and know how to deal with them.
Sixty local residents have already followed a (free) basic training and new training courses will start soon. She talks about the dementia-friendly neighborhood with three local residents and volunteers, Margot, Riny and Marion. “We started an information market in January 2020 and since then we have – together with Alzheimer Nederland, Dementienetwerk Zutphen-Lochem, Vorden eo, district team Noordveen, the district director of the municipality of Zutphen and Sensire (De Lunette) and Zorggroep Sint-Maarten ( Polbeek) – further rolled out. We really do it together with professionals and local residents.” The residents were invited to sign up for basic training. Even an entrepreneur in the neighborhood had all his staff follow the training and made the national news as a ‘dementia-friendly snack bar’. “Perhaps this will encourage other entrepreneurs in the neighborhood as well,” hopes local resident Marion.
Pleasant living
The training teaches the participants in half a day to recognize situations that they may encounter in their immediate environment. “In the neighborhood we are getting more and more signals about people with dementia. We think it is important that everyone in Noordveen can live together in a pleasant way. It then helps to recognize dementia. And if you have to deal with dementia, the training also helps you convince others that something is going on,” she says. “Another reason why people follow the training is because they themselves are afraid of developing dementia. They can gain knowledge through the training,” adds Margot. As co-founder of the Zutphen, Lochem and surroundings department of Alzheimer Nederland, she is an involved local resident.
Focus on what’s going well
An important eye-opener for the participants is that you should not focus on what people with dementia can no longer do, but on what they can still do. “Then the course of the disease will also slow down”, says Yvonne. “If someone starts throwing their coffee out of powerlessness, then the solution is not to offer a plastic cup, but to start a conversation, to make contact.”
“You always learn something new”, is Riny’s experience. One of the things she learned from the course is that you ask someone with dementia questions. Do not immediately take over tasks, but ask if you can help. “For example, don’t just remove the plate after dinner, but ask if you can remove the plate. Otherwise, such a person will then ask about the food.”
Sign In
The next basic training Good Dealing with Dementia is on Monday evening 9 October in De Lunette. If there is a lot of interest, an extra training is then planned in Polbeek. Those who have already followed the basic training are welcome at the Dementia Friendly Noordveen follow-up meeting on Wednesday evening 1 November in the DWK building. There will also be an information market on dementia and support options at that location on Thursday 21 September, during World Alzheimer’s Day, between 13:30 and 17:00. Registration is not necessary for this. Anyone can sign up for the training sessions [email protected].
2023-09-02 13:01:01
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