Announcement from Louise Ashmore and Louise Askew at the Parson Cross Forum in Sheffield, which was announced in an interview on BBC Radio Sheffield on Wednesday.
“Thanks to the players of the National Lottery and the Big Lottery Fund, Parson Cross Community Development Forum is celebrating today after securing a major Lottery grant that will allow us to build on our innovative and much-needed community-based dementia services and become a dementia service hub.
We have just been awarded a £402,716 Reaching Communities grant from the Big Lottery Fund to deliver our Unforgettable Me Project over the next five years.
The funding will allow us to increase capacity of our existing Memory Café that is currently funded by the People Keeping Well in their Community and deliver two further Dementia Cafes per week. It will also allow the Forum to continue to develop and deliver the existing JABADAO Dementia Project for people living with late stage dementia and their carers.
Further details will follow in the New Year.”
As a person living with Dementia and an Ambassador for the Cafe, it is wonderful to see the two Louise’s growing the cafe over the last two years and now with the backing of the Big Lottery Fund they will be able to grow it further.
The Cafe is an important part of the community, not just in Parson Cross but across the city, as people attend from outside the Parson Cross area.
Friendships are made and all manner of support and information are provided.
Care Partners get to meet each other and share information and ideas.
Some members also attend the Lunch Club and the Jabadao sessions.
With the Cafe expanding to 3 days a week, so many more people living with Dementia and their Care Partners will no longer be isolated and hopefully empowered to live their lives within the limits of the persons own Dementia, to make new friends and access support and information.
All in all a wonderful Christmas present from the Big Lottery Fund and a big thank you to the two Louise’s for all they do.
When The Fog Lifts 