Alzheimer Scotland has announced the launch of its pioneering Alzheimer Scotland Virtual Resource Centre, which will provide much-needed online support for carers and people living with dementia. The Virtual Resource Centre has a dementia-friendly design, taking into account adjustable lighting, carpeting and furniture and is modelled on the current interior of Alzheimer Scotland’s “bricks and mortar” Dementia Resource Centres, allowing visitors to “walk through” a Dementia Resource Centre. They are welcomed in the reception area by an “avatar” guide who is multi-lingual and able to respond to queries, as well as to direct people to the support they are looking for.
The first of its kind in the UK, the Virtual Resource Centre is currently under construction, and Alzheimer Scotland is calling on the public to back the rest of the build by supporting the Virtual Brick Appeal. The appeal calls for people to buy a virtual brick, and help raise the vital funds required for the completion of the digital centre, one brick at a time. To support the Virtual Brick Appeal, visit www.alzscot.org/virtualbrick .
Whilst this project has been on the radar for some time, Alzheimer Scotland decided to accelerated its development due to the coronavirus pandemic, as a means to provide people living with dementia easy access to the help they need. Alzheimer Scotland Chief Executive, Henry Simmons, said:
“The coronavirus pandemic has had an extreme impact on people living with dementia, as well as carers and loved ones, and we have reacted quickly to find new ways of supporting people. It is clear that there is urgent need and demand for a digital resource which can be accessed quickly and easily now and in the future.”
