KNITTED flowers made by residents of a Weymouth care home are helping raise awareness of dementia on a national scale.
Highclere House on Cross Road will be hosting a week of different events to highlight National Dementia Awareness Week, which begins on May 18.
Events organised so far include a visit by a dementia friendly hair salon and a dementia café.
But Debbie Holmes, home admissions advisor, said residents and staff had also been busy knitting 'forget me not' flowers, which will be sold in support of the awareness week.
The care home's Knit and Natter group, formed by the University of the Third Age, have created 300 woven flowers in support of the Dementia Action Alliance.
The alliance aims to improve the lives of the 850,000 people who live with dementia in the UK.
Debbie added: “We're looking for keen knitters or crochet fans to create a huge bunch of these little flowers, which are the symbol of the alliance.
“There is even a knitting pattern and crochet pattern to follow. Anyone who wants to make some flowers for us please do get in touch with us.
“The Dementia Action Alliance is doing very important work in improving the lives of people living with dementia in the area.
"As a group, we wanted to do our bit to support them and the people in the community living with the condition.”
Highclere House also hosts monthly events offering people the chance to improve their understanding of dementia, with their next public session taking place on Tuesday, May 19.
The sessions focus on everyday things people can do to help those living with dementia.
Debbie added: “I have two family members who live with dementia so trying to raise people's understanding of it is a cause very close to my heart.
“At Highclere House we have a nostalgia household, which means we care for people with different forms of dementia.”
People can register online to attend the monthly sessions by visiting dementiafriends.org.uk or calling 01305 233300.
Dementia describes a set of symptoms that may include memory loss and difficulties with thinking, problem-solving or language.
Dementia is caused when the brain is damaged by diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease or a series of strokes.
Each person is unique and will experience dementia in their own way. The different types of dementia tend to affect people differently, especially in the early stages.
A person with dementia will have problems with thinking or memory, which could include:
• day-to-day memory - difficulty recalling recent events
• concentrating, planning or organising - difficulties making decisions, solving problems or carrying out a sequence of tasks
• language - difficulties following a conversation or finding the right word for something
• problems judging distances and seeing objects in three dimensions
• orientation - losing track of the day or date, or becoming confused about where they are
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