This summer, the Swedish Dementia Association (Demensförbundet) was finally able to provide support in various forms for entire families affected by Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. This was the first camp of its kind for families in Sweden, and it was a success. It all started with the fact that the Swedish Dementia Association and Alzheimer's Foundation saw the importance of bringing together the entire family and saw this as very significant, as there are currently no meeting places for affected families in Sweden today. They therefore decided to take action and to focus on supporting whole families. With this collaboration, Demensförbundet wanted to enable entire families to break away from their everyday lives and meet other affected individuals, share experiences, provide support to each other, and gain knowledge and information.
The camp took place during a weekend in July in the south part of Sweden, by the sea. “It was delightful and important to be able to offer a wide range of activities for different ages and needs” said Demensförbundet, of the programme for the camp, which included activities such as lectures and discussion groups, creative workshops, painting, yoga and massage, stand-up paddle boarding, and much more. 13 families from different parts of Sweden participated. The opportunity for them to get away from their hometowns and meet others in a peaceful and pleasant environment, with a programme tailored to their needs was greatly appreciated. “Without our fantastic leaders, this would not have been possible - they have all shown strong commitment and attentiveness to the diverse needs of the participants. With their extensive experience and professionalism, each of them contributed in a very nice way to create this successful family camp”, noted Demensförbundet.
Now, the organisations involved hope to arrange more meeting places for families in the future, as a joint project. They believe they have good conditions to do so, as the organisations complement each other, and “it is of utmost importance that we come together to give voice and comfort to the families affected by Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia”, they conclude.
