BURTON Albion first-team manager Nigel Clough opened Trent & Dove Housing’s Dementia Awareness Day at its Trinity Square offices on Horninglow Street this morning.
Billy Brewer and representatives from Burton Albion Community Trust have also been in attendance on the day, which saw Clough, schoolchildren from Shobnall Primary School and staff and representatives from local businesses visit a Virtual Dementia Tour bus.
The bus provides a simulated experience for those who climb aboard, to help understand the behaviours and needs of someone living with dementia.
225,000 people will develop dementia this year, which is one person every three minutes. In total, there are 850,000 people with dementia in the UK, with numbers set to rise to over 1 million by 2025.
Trent & Dove provide affordable homes for rent and ownership across East Staffordshire, South Derbyshire and North West Leicestershire, as well as their firstCall 24/7 response team.
Nigel Clough said: “Experiencing for just three minutes what it could be like for people who suffer with dementia was a difficult but vital insight - especially when you then consider what dementia must be like to live with 24/7.
“Days like this are important for so many reasons, to help raise awareness of dementia and the symptoms that come with it, as well as to highlight the work that Trent & Dove, as well as Burton Albion Community Trust, do in our community and the support they offer.
“I must thank the staff at Trent & Dove for inviting us. It was an honour to help open the event today.”
Laura McCready, Marketing and PR Co-ordinator at Trent & Dove Housing, said: “This week is Dementia Awareness Week and we want to make sure that we raise awareness for everybody.
“We’ve held a Dementia Awareness Day today at our offices in Burton-upon-Trent, and we’ve got stalls from different health initiatives including Burton Albion Community Trust, Diabetes UK, Dementia UK, Medequip, Everyone Health and Firstcall 24/7. To not only raise awareness of Dementia but to promote health and well-being too.
“It was absolutely fantastic for Nigel Clough to open the day.”
Burton Albion Community Trust Head of Community Matt Hancock said: “We have worked closely for a number of years with Trent & Dove and we are proud to support their Dementia Awareness Day, as well as Dementia Action Week.
“The statistics around dementia, including how many people suffer with it and how many are diagnosed each week, means we must do all we can to help raise awareness.
“We would like to thank Trent & Dove for allowing us to be part of their day, and will continue to work closely with them in the work they do.”
For more information on Trent & Dove Housing, please visit their website by clicking here.