The Dementia Diaries is part of Kent County Council’s solution to future-proof as a ‘dementia friendly’ community.
“These aren’t just diaries – they’re a real beacon of hope for the future,” says Angela Rippon, whose Foreword to the Novel carries weight as the Co-Chair of the National Dementia Friendly Communities Champion Group.
Developed with young people, for young people, the Diaries are a unique learning resource, a collection of illustrated true stories from the grandchildren of relatives with dementia – the good days, the bad days and everything in between.
Following a recommendation from the Kent County Council Dementia Select Committee, the Social Innovation Lab for Kent, currently hosted in the Families and Social Care Strategic Commissioning Unit, coordinated the project, taking a creative and human-centred approach to tackling one of society’s remaining taboos.
Trudy Dean, Leader of Liberal Democrat Group and Chair of the Select Committee said: “Whenever you want to change something about how a community thinks about conditions like dementia, you always start with children – they’re not polite, they’re extremely honest and they have a way of connecting straight to the heart of the issue”.
The Diaries are now available in every primary and secondary school and Libraries across Kent and are now being developed into an intergenerational learning resource pack. Surrey County Council have bulk purchased the Diaries for their secondary schools; further enquiries are welcome. All proceeds are being reinvested back into the ‘dementia friendly’ Kent community. To purchase a copy of the book visit the Simpli Care Store website.
You can view an animation based on the characters of the book on You Tube. The short film will be used as part of the learning resource pack in schools. Can can also follow progress on Twitter using @dementiadiaries, #dementiadiaries, @SILKteam, #startingwithpeople and @KentSocialCare.
For further information please email SIILK.team@kent.gov.uk
