Dementia Friendly Honiton previously known as Honiton Dementia Action Alliance] is a volunteer organisation based in Honiton whose aim is to bring about a community-wide response to dementia through raising awareness about what it is like to live with dementia and to positively encourage inclusivity in all aspects of community life. At the same time, the organisation offers valuable social support to those living with dementia and their carers. Dementia Friendly Honiton has been immensely successful in doing this and the impact of their work, which would not happen but for them, continues to grow.
Since their formation 11 years ago this voluntary organisation has:
- Run a successful and well attended fortnightly Memory Café.
- Run a monthly, dementia friendly Nostalgic Cinema film show.
- Organised a regular Ambling Group for those with dementia and their carers.
- Built positive relationships and worked closely with local health and care services and the town, district and county councils.
- Garnered the active and continuing support of over 40 local businesses and organisations in the Honiton area; given the size and population of the area this is a notable achievement.
- Engaged closely with schools and youth groups to educate and inform the next generation and to engender inclusiveness and acceptance by the young of all those affected by dementia, directly or indirectly.
- Liaised with the local police to set-up the Herbert Protocol which helps the police in any search for a missing person. In this they are a leader in the field.
- Through working with Dementia UK and Honiton Hospital League of Friends, raised the funds to appoint an Admiral Nurse for Honiton whose skills are specific to dementia and family support. The funds raised currently allow for six years’ costs for the nurse and Fundraising is ongoing to cover further years.
Honiton Dementia Action Alliance was named “Dementia Friendly Rural Community of the Year” in 2016 and in 2019 was honoured to receive the highly prestigious “Queens Award for Voluntary Organisations”.
“The group is entirely composed of volunteers with a tremendous ethos of community spirit toward the problems arising from dementia. The group has had a real and beneficial effect not only for those living with dementia and their carers, but also on the whole community by bringing to it a positive awareness of all the issues surrounding dementia. The group is well run and well-structured in the various areas of activity that it carries out. The assessors were extremely impressed with the very positive and also compassionate attitude of Honiton Dementia Action Alliance, also with the commitment of the volunteers. “
Devon Lieutenancy Office 2019