Dementia Friends

    Blues supporting Dementia Friends campaign

    Club hosts information session for staff, volunteers and stewards

    Chester FC hosted a Dementia Friends information session for staff, volunteers and stewards to support the club’s commitment to inclusivity.

    Alzheimer’s Society launched the #TeamDementiaFriends campaign to help make sure that people living with dementia can continue to do the things they love, like supporting their favourite football team.

    The charity is working to ensure football clubs are places where people with dementia and their carers feel understood and included and to tackle the social isolation that often follows a dementia diagnosis.

    The Dementia Friends programme is the biggest ever initiative to change people’s perceptions of dementia. It aims to transform the way the nation thinks, acts and talks about the condition so that people can feel involved and included in their communities and continue doing the things they love.

    Rob Catlow, a volunteer Dementia Friends champion, delivered the session which provided attendees with some understanding of what it is like to live with dementia and the small ways they can support someone living with the condition.

    Those who attended the session are now Dementia Friends and further work is planned to consider how the club can turn their understanding of dementia into practical actions.

    Jim Green, chief executive of Chester FC Community Trust, said: “Chester FC is committed to being an inclusive club and we’re proud to support the #TeamDementiaFriends campaign.

    “We’re very grateful to Rob who gave us a personal account of his family’s own experience of dementia and it was an emotive and thought provoking session.

    “I know many of our supporters will have similar experiences to Rob and we will be exploring what we can do as a club to ensure people living with the condition can continue to cheer on the Blues.

    “This is a first step and we are planning a further Dementia Friends information session towards the end of the season. I’d encourage anyone who would like to attend or who would like to know to contact the club.”