Watch a wee montage presentation of the day here: https://vimeo.com/755519204
A Day at the Ceartas Advocacy Dementia Voices DEEP 10th Anniversary Event
I just LOVED coming up to Scotland today for this gathering. Essentially it was a real home from home. Michelle who facilitates the Dementia Voices group brilliantly received due praise but as she says – the success of the group and events like this are very much a two-way thing.
Michelle opened the meeting offering to show what Dementia Voices is all about here. Well the members did not disappoint. What followed was so familiar to any DEEP-ers – a blend of fun, friendship, belonging, song, laughter, tears, story-telling, reporting, reflection and work done too
The tables were laid out in fitting with the cabaret feel to the whole of the gathering. Alan played us in on the keyboard, teeing up Tommy and his brilliant stand up routine. This is not really about dementia but about potential and freedom and self-expression – so many elements compromised in an all too often disabling world exacerbated by the doom and gloom and hopelessness that accompanies the delivery of a diagnosis.
Billy shared, ‘What I used to be able to do’. It was not as a tale of loss but the sort of conversation that triggers many ‘me too’ moments usually followed by a rich discussion on what dementia really is on a personal level. This is always much more relevant than someone standing up presenting a list of symptoms on a screen. After all, who doesn’t relate to no longer being able to stand on your head and drink a pint?!
Jean shared some of her own difficulties so openly amongst peers because this is a safe undaunting non-judgemental space. It meant she could also share her useful coping strategies. The value of such a space cannot be underestimated.
The group also shared many of the products and venues they have tested out locally. Like elsewhere, this DEEP group does not meet in isolation but rather is a powerful resource helping shape services locally and beyond as they form part of the wider DEEP family.
More testimonies followed. Alan shared his holiday experience, blown away as he was by the Great Wall of China and Philip shared a snapshot of his career and lifestory. Again the freedom to share one’s enthusiasm and assert one’s identity were present. A brilliant engineer, although not engineering brilliantly anymore, is still and always will be a brilliant engineer and husband more than anything else.
In this, the September 10 Year DEEP festival gathering, it was a privilege to share in and witness the living values of the whole DEEP network. I may have traveled a long way but I’ve felt very much at home all day.
Damian Murphy Director Innovations in Dementia
To find out more about the plans for this event please click here or click the image below to download the PDF.
Find out more about De-Cafe/Dmentia Voices at Ceartas by watching the videos below.
