A dedicated space for Island services to work together to provide essential support to Islanders living with dementia is set to open in Cowes next week.
The Alzheimer Café IW and their dedicated team of volunteers have worked tirelessly to carry out a programme of improvement and refurbishment work at the Parklands site on Park Road.
Most of this work has been made possible through an ongoing fundraising campaign and generous donations from Island residents.
The Alzheimer Café IW has already opened a bright and vibrant community café at Parklands where everyone is welcome.
Alzheimer Café @ Parklands
They are now pleased to announce the opening of the ‘Alzheimer Café @ Parklands’ on Monday, 13th May, offering a wide range of services for people living with or caring for someone with dementia.
Parklands will be a friendly space where people can get the expert advice and information they need, access training, or just enjoy a coffee and a chat.
It also offers a wellbeing club for people living with dementia, providing a safe and supportive environment where people will have the opportunity to revisit hobbies or engage in new activities that interest them, enabling relatives and carers to have a break.
Bennett: We are very excited to be able to extend this support
Maggie Bennett, from the Alzheimer Café IW, said,
“Alzheimer Cafés on the Isle of Wight have been supporting people living with dementia, their families, friends and carers since 2009.
“We are very excited to be able to extend this support to so many more people through our services at Parklands. It is a place where you will be greeted by a smiling face, where you can find the information you need and somewhere that everyone can feel safe and find respite for a while.
“We need to thank everyone who has generously supported our ongoing fundraising or volunteered their time to get us to where we are now, it has been such an amazing community effort.
“Please come along, enjoy some refreshments in our community café and find out more about what we do — we look forward to seeing you.”
It is one year since the Isle of Wight Council’s Cabinet approved a 50-year lease of the Parklands site to be used as a community base offering a meeting place, activities, training, support and advice for people and families living with dementia.
Andre: People told us they needed a local dementia hub
Councillor Debbie Andre, Cabinet member for adult social care and public health, said,
“The Isle of Wight Dementia Strategy published in 2022 was the culmination of what Island residents told us was needed for people to live well with dementia in our communities.
“People told us they needed a local dementia hub where people can go for support, advice, activities, company and friendship.
“Another strong theme from public feedback was the difficulty people had in finding engaging and flexible respite care for someone with dementia, making it difficult for relatives or other carers to have a break.
“Parklands meets these two key objectives of the Isle of Wight Dementia Strategy and the Isle of Wight Council are proud to support this much needed initiative and look forward watching it grow and develop in the future.”
Grand opening
The grand opening of Parklands is taking place on Monday, 13th May between 10am and 4pm. The opening ceremony will take place at 11am.
Everyone is welcome to come along and find out more about the services on offer and meet with a wide range of local services.
News shared by Isle of Wight council press office, in their own words. Ed
