Berlin – Success of the “Initiative Dementia Partners”: Today, June 8th, 2023, at the German Evangelical Church Congress in Nuremberg, the hundred thousandth Dementia Partner was trained by the German Alzheimer Society. The Parliamentary State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health, Sabine Dittmar, personally attended the training and congratulated it on the great success.
The “Dementia Partner” program is part of the National Dementia Strategy, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) and is jointly responsible with the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ). An offer that is aimed directly at interested citizens, sensitizes them in an uncomplicated way to dealing well with dementia, reduces fears and has already motivated many to get involved. It is a free service available nationwide.
“People with dementia and their relatives often feel isolated because encounters with friends and relatives are reduced or not at all. Now 100,000 people in Germany have become dementia partners and the number is growing every day: You can all contribute to bringing people with dementia into the center of our society,” explains Saskia Weiß, Managing Director of the German Alzheimer Society (DAlzG).
Parliamentary State Secretary Sabine Dittmar, BMG: “A self-determined life with dementia is definitely possible, but also foreign to many. It is a phase with many challenging situations that you have to fill with new life. The dementia partner training can provide support and provide valuable information and tips about meeting people with dementia. This is very helpful for both those affected and their families. I can only motivate you to register for a Dementia Partner training course – I also took part in the training course today out of conviction. In our society we need more committed, interested, approachable people who are not afraid of meeting people with dementia.”
In line with this year’s motto of the Church Congress, “Now is the time!”, the DAlzG calls on everyone to find out more about the topics of dementia and Alzheimer’s, even if you haven’t been affected by it yourself.
“Even though dementia causes cognitive decline, people with dementia lead active lives. They go shopping, read something to their grandchildren or meet friends. Together we can help ensure that they can participate as much as possible. The Dementia Partner initiative shows us how it works. So that we can all deal better with dementia. That is good – not only for those affected, but for society as a whole.” Parliamentary State Secretary Sven Lehmann, BMFSFJ, supports the initiative.
The offer is open to everyone – regardless of whether they are young or old, employed or retired, regardless of whether they have people with dementia in their personal environment or not. Further training courses on dementia partners can be found at www.demenz-partner.de. These events are carried out by committed institutions and organizations nationwide.
background
Around 1.8 million people with dementia live in Germany. Most of them live at home with more or less support and not in a nursing home.
The sponsor of the Dementia Partner initiative is the German Alzheimer Society Self-Help Dementia. It is a self-help organization that works nationwide to improve the situation of people with dementia and their families. Today, more than 130 Alzheimer’s societies organized at state and regional level belong to the nationwide association.
The German Alzheimer Society is registered as a representative of the interests of people with dementia and their relatives in the lobby register of the German Bundestag and has committed itself to the applicable code of conduct.