Dementia cafe opens on Sydney’s north shore to reduce isolation and support carers
A new dementia-friendly cafe on Sydney’s north shore is helping reduce isolation for people living with dementia and their carers as diagnosis rates continue to rise.
North Shore
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A new cafe is serving up fresh memories for people living with dementia on the north shore as diagnosis rates continue to rise across the region.
Volunteer Fiona Jenkins is a driving force behind the newly launched D Cafe in West Pymble that is helping to support people living with dementia and their loved ones.
She has been nominated for a Pride of Australia award.
As well as providing cups of coffee and a place where attendees can be themselves, the initiative also offers talks from guest speakers, light exercise programs and activities that stimulate the brain.
Ms Jenkins said she was inspired to assist in the launch of the cafe after supporting several close friends and family members through the early stages of diagnosis.
“The cafe is entirely volunteer-run and most of us have had family or friends living with dementia,” she said.
“I’ve had some wonderful friends of mine who’ve been diagnosed and I really saw a growing need for something like this in the area.
“Not everyone has a huge family network so it’s helping to reduce social isolation by encouraging people to come out of their homes, mix with a small group of people and form new friendships.
“And it’s fun — it’s a place where people can come together, relax and have a good time for a couple of hours a week.”
The cafe, held at the Ku-ring-gai Fitness & Aquatic Centre, is the first to open in the council region and comes after increasing membership at two other dementia-friendly cafes in the upper north shore reached capacity.
Ms Jenkins, who volunteers at all three cafes, said friendships forged at the get-togethers have resulted in many attendees catching up outside cafe hours for activities including lunch — and even sailing trips.
She said the cafes were not only great for people with dementia, but for their carers and families as well.
“One of the benefits is that it also supports carers — they’re able to have that break or can come and chat with the other carers which is so important because if our carers burn out whose going to care for them?” she said.
The launch comes as new figures show the number of people with dementia is estimated to increase to 500,000 in Australia by 2025.
Dementia Australia said social isolation can often result from people living with dementia losing contact with friends or family members who may not know enough about dementia or no longer know how to relate to the person.
Ms Jenkins said numbers at each gathering were kept small to enable attendees to feel relaxed and included.
She hopes to see more initiatives of its kind opening in the local area.
“The support and generosity we’ve had from the community has been fantastic and as volunteers we’ve relied entirely on that,” she said.
“There really will be more of these types of programs and social activities as time goes on.”
Ku-ring-gai Mayor Jennifer Anderson welcomed the opening, saying it was “the first step in making the council region a dementia-friendly community”.
“Ku-ring-gai has a higher than average proportion of people aged 80 and over living locally and age-related diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s need to be supported where possible in our community,” she said.