Dementia and Hope

The Dementia and Hope publication published in January 2023, prepared by Philly Hare states, “We must focus not only on the medical aspects of dementia, but also on the many other barriers which disable those affected. We must address these societal and environmental barriers proactively, thinking more about rights, citizenship, inclusion and equality. In this way we can each play our part in bringing more hope and meaning to the lives of those of us who live with this condition.

“To achieve this, we must understand that we all have the power to change or minimise these barriers, by making adjustments both to the physical environment and to our attitudes and behaviours, and by adopting a rights-based approach.

“There are many benefits to this approach, including:

• Hope and empowerment: Recognising dementia in terms of disability rights and citizenship can empower, and give hope to,
those who are diagnosed and their families.
• Equity and inclusion: This approach helps us all to focus on how the disabilities associated with dementia connect with social,
attitudinal and environmental factors; with the strengths, resilience and abilities of people with dementia themselves; and with the principles of solidarity and inclusion.
• Access and adjustment: This approach should help people with dementia to access everything that others, with or without disabilities, access. Society can also learn from them what the barriers are and redouble its efforts to minimise them through what the law calls reasonable adjustments / accommodations.

“The Dementia and Hope publication sets out our starting point and the key benefits of the approach. It addresses many frequently asked questions and provides suggestions on how to embed ‘Dementia and Hope’ into your organisation. There are also many personal stories and examples of how ‘reasonable adjustments’ can and should be made for people with dementia.”

The vision was co-created, launched and adopted in 2022 by a number of dementia organisations in the UK who came together to form a group called One Dementia Voice. It includes:

• Alzheimer’s Research UK 
• Alzheimer’s Society 
• Dementia UK 
• Innovations in Dementia 
• John’s Campaign 
• Lewy Body Society 
• Rare Dementia Support 
• together in dementia everyday (tide) 
• Young Dementia Network 

We invite you to find out more, to share the Dementia and Hope vision and to actively use it in your lives and/or your work. We hope that these web pages, the Dementia and Hope publication and supporting resources will help you to do so.