Dementia Friends
Become a Dementia Friend! Learn more about dementia mate wareware and simple ways to help.
“People with dementia live in the moment. Being a Dementia Friend doesn’t mean giving up your life. Even the smallest of actions can make a big difference.”
Bronwyn’s story
Read Bronwyn's storyBy becoming a Dementia Friend you’re joining a growing community of Kiwis helping to make Aotearoa New Zealand a kinder, more supportive, inclusive and understanding place for people living with dementia mate wareware.
Once you have completed the registration, the course only takes 20 minutes.
Completing the course
When you click on the link you’ll be going to our new platform, hosted by Pointsbuild.
Its free. However, you will need to purchase (at no cost) the Dementia Friends programme by clicking ‘Add to cart’ on the bottom of the page.
Then you will need to ‘Checkout’ your shopping cart.
Register your details under ‘new user’ and complete your order. Then you can ‘Continue to member area’.
From here, click on ‘Dementia Friends’ under courses and then ‘Start course’.
Please read the instructions before completing the course. Don’t exit the Pointsbuild tab, as you’ll need to navigate back to this once you’ve completed the course to get your certificate.
You can also log back in at any time to get a copy of your Dementia Friends certificate.
What does a Dementia Friend do?
As a Dementia Friend, you’re supporting those living with dementia mate wareware in your community to live well. The Dementia Friends programme will show you simple ways that you can help.
Being a Dementia Friend doesn’t have to take lots of your time or be a big commitment. Some simple Dementia Friendly actions you can take include being kind and helpful to people during your day, thinking about how you communicate, or offering to help someone in supermarket or on the street.
Complete the Dementia Friends 20-minute programme to learn more.
By becoming a Dementia Friend, you’re joining a community of Dementia Friends across Aotearoa New Zealand and the world. Simple, small actions really do help!
Dementia Friends tell us:
“I believe in kindness and I think kindness is a language everyone speaks, whether they have dementia or not.”
“I started my Dementia Friends action by engaging my elderly neighbour and offering to help her with gardening as well as continuing bringing in her mail for her.”
“We had a team member who was a bit cautious about knowing when to help because he had heard that people with dementia can become combative or angry, which started a conversation around anger generally being a by product of fear. This lead to different discussions about how we could use our words, tone of voice and body language to show we are safe or to seek a nurses assistance, if required.”
Share your story
We’d love to hear more about why you became a Dementia Friend and what this means to you – reach out to us on dementiafriendlynz@alzheimers.org.nz.
You can also follow us on the Dementia Friendly NZ Facebook page.
I’m worried and want help
If you’re worried you or someone you know is showing signs of dementia mate wareware, the best place to start is by talking to your see your Doctor/Primary Health Practice/Nurse Practitioner or Māori Health Provider.
If you have dementia mate wareware or are the care partner or whānau of someone with dementia mate wareware, you can call 0800 004 001 or contact your local organisation for help and support.
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