Dementia friendly activities and campaigns in local communities have provided substantial support to people with dementia and their carers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Spominčica (Alzheimer Slovenia) is coordinating a network of more than 240 Dementia Friendly Points. The network consists of organisations, from Ministries, the Human Rights Ombudsman, care homes for elderly people, pharmacies, libraries, schools, shops, police stations, centres for social work…to local hairdressers, who are engaged in changing their services and their communities to become more dementia friendly. Their employees participated in a training about dementia, first signs, communication and available services for families with dementia.
Throughout the summer months, the Dementia Friendly Points network welcomed 18 new members including Ljubljana Pharmacies and the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning and Public Payments Administration.
Dementia Friendly Points have proved to have a significant role in providing access to information about dementia and services during COVID-19 in their local communities.
Spominčica has also engaged several experts, psychiatrists, neurologists, psychologists, nurses and lawyers to provide additional support on its telephone helpline. Carers of people with dementia use the telephone helpline service a lot, since it operates every day from 8:00 till 22:00, and provides an important and accessible communication channel. Spominčica has also prepared a "Guide during COVID - 19 for people with dementia and their relatives", which is available on the organisation's website: https://www.spomincica.si/.
Spominčica has also been able to provide assistance and support to people with dementia and their relatives, who are in even greater distress during the pandemic, as the organisation was successful in the public tender for the action called "With modern approaches, we strengthen the strength of older people, people with dementia and their relatives in the period COVID-19" co-financed by the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union from the European Social Fund. The organisation is now carrying out this action.