Make a difference for dementia this September

Make a difference for dementia this September

Wellington, NZ - Thousands of Kiwis will take to the streets from 16-24 September to raise awareness for dementia. In Wellington, walkers will take to the tracks, as they take part in a Memory Walk at ZEALANDIA.

Memory Walks will be hosted in 20 towns and cities around New Zealand as part of World Alzheimer’s Month. The aim is to raise further awareness and understanding of dementia as a widespread condition.

An estimated 60,000 people are living with dementia in New Zealand and this is expected to increase to nearly 170,000 by 2050.

Alzheimers NZ chief executive, Catherine Hall, says the Memory Walks are a great way to raise awareness of the dementia challenge facing New Zealand.

“Memory Walks allow the community to show their support for people with dementia and their families, friends and care partners. They’re also a time for us to remember the people we know or have known with dementia."

“September is a month in which we can all come together to be more dementia-friendly. We can reach out to people we know with the condition, we can include them in our lives and activities, we can focus on their abilities instead of their disabilities."

To make a difference to the lives of people living with dementia, their care partners, and families; Alzheimers NZ and local Alzheimers organisations have adopted a ‘Dementia-friendly NZ’ as their mission.

Ms Hall says even though dementia is one of NZ’s most significant healthcare and social service challenges; there is very little discussion or acknowledgement of its everyday impacts.

“Most people with dementia live in our communities. They shop, work, eat out, catch the bus, go to the library and do everything else we all enjoy doing.”

“We want New Zealand to be an open and inclusive society - a place where people with dementia feel valued and safe, and where they can contribute to and participate in their communities. Memory Walks are an important part of raising more awareness about dementia in our communities.”

Join your local Memory Walk this September. To register, visit: alzheimers.org.nz/memorywalk

ENDS

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