A group of five employees and one board member of the Joseph & Elizabeth Shaw Public Library became Dementia Friends recently as part of a campaign to tackle the stigma and lack of understanding about dementia.
The group attended a one-hour information session at the library hosted by local Dementia Friends Champion Julie Fenton, director of outreach with the Clearfield County Area Agency on Aging.
Dementia Friends is the biggest ever initiative to change people’s perceptions of dementia. It aims to transform the way we think, talk and act about the disease. Approximately 400,000 Pennsylvanians are living with Alzheimer’s and related dementias.
Dementia Friends Champions are volunteers who inform people about being a Dementia Friend in their communities.
Speaking about the session, Fenton said: “I was so pleased to see these individuals showing their support for those living with dementia by participating in the Session and becoming ‘Dementia Friends.’
“We need to create more dementia-friendly communities so that people affected by dementia feel understood and included.”
For more information about the Dementia Friends movement in Clearfield or to learn how your business can become “dementia-friendly”, contact the CCAAA at 814-765-2696 and ask for Julie Fenton or e-mail directly to jfenton@ccaaa.net.
Programs and services of the Agency are funded in part by the Pennsylvania Department of Aging, the Clearfield County Area Agency on Aging Inc, Mature Resources Foundation, and local and consumer contributions.
Pictured, from left, are: Susan Force, Lisa Coval, Stacy Pernesky, Rebecca Dohner and Jill Wagner. Missing from the picture is Marianne Herres.
