Balloon release Dementia Awareness Week

Alzheimer’s Society Antrim/Ballymena Area celebrated its successful Dementia Awareness week with a Tea Party & Balloon Release at the Michelin Athletic Club on May 22. The week aimed to raise awareness while encouraging people to get talking about dementia and it week also allowed the Alzheimer’s Society to continue to lobby and campaign for diagnosis and development, provision and access to services for people with dementia, their families and carers. Great fun was had by over 50 participants, including Mayor Councillor Hubert Nicholl and local celebrity Jackie Fullerton, who participated in activities ranging from music, dancing and refreshments. The theme of the event was ‘Remember the Person’ in recognition that it is important as a community that we are mindful that a person diagnosed with dementia also has a life. Wilma McIlroy Dementia Support Worker stated that: “Dementia is an umbrella term used to describe a collection of symptoms that affect the brain and leads to the loss of ability to think, learn, reason and remember. “The Society’s vision is of a radically improved world for people with dementia, a world where they have their rights recognised and where they can live with dignity, free from discrimination. We also believe that it is important for the carers of those people with dementia to have their needs fully met,” she said.