THE Clare Alzheimer Cafe will be held for a couple of hours at Wolfe Tones on the first Wednesday of every month.
It was held for the first time this week and Hadley Fitzpatrick, Outreach Services Coordinator for the Clare branch of the Alzheimer Society of Ireland said that all will be made welcome.
“The information cafe in Shannon is for absolutely anyone, if someone is worried or curious or had questions about a family member they’d be very welcome to come.
“It’s to help link in with the services as well. I have one woman who is coming who has just been diagnosed and didn’t really know what the definition of dementia was. It’s for anyone with any questions or curiosity to come in.”
Fiona Staunton, dementia adviser for Clare, was the speaker this week, and Hadley says that there will be people with expertise in certain aspects of living with the disease coming each month.
“That’s the plan, and they have these around the country, the bigger cities already have them already. One day you might have someone speaking about nutrition, I’d like to get someone in to talk about practical financial stuff, often we wouldn’t know each other’s passwords. It’s all about practical things that can help people, and to help link into the services.”
Hadley said there are a lot of supports available within the county, but people may not be aware of them.
“We have a day centre, day care at home, cognitive memory therapy for people on the younger end who are just starting out with it.
“We have social clubs, there are two of them going in Clare now. There are support groups. You do need support and friends and I know there are not a lot of carers in the area.”
Many people are already living with Alzheimers around the county.
“There are over 1,000 diagnoses in Clare, and that’s just those who have gone to the doctor with an issue. I would say there are loads more.”
For information on upcoming events at the monthly cafe contact Hadley on 087 1898711.
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked with a number of other publications in Limerick, Cork and Galway. His first book will be published in December 2024.