Cultural and religious awareness within dementia care
Admiral Nurse Asma Pandor discusses the importance of cultural and religious awareness in dementia care.
Why faith and worship is important for people with dementia
Faith, religion and spirituality are central to many people’s lives. They can shape a person’s identity, provide comfort and offer a sense of belonging.
After a dementia diagnosis, it can become harder for people to practise their faith in the way they once did or to stay connected to their religious community. This can lead to feelings of isolation, confusion and loss of identity.
“My grandma stopped going to the church she’d attended for 50 years because people would ask her questions that she couldn’t answer, and it became difficult for her to be in those environments.” – Tim, whose grandma lived with dementia
How Dementia UK will support your faith community
Our Admiral Nurses will work with your faith group to help people affected by dementia feel understood, included and supported.
We can provide tailored, compassionate support, including:
- guidance on supporting members of your community who are living with dementia
- tips for making places of worship dementia-inclusive
- advice on helping someone maintain their spiritual life after a diagnosis
- emotional support for carers and families
- resources to tackle stigma around dementia
- we also have advice leaflets available in other languages
“Seeing familiar faces, hearing prayers and conversation he recognised, and still feeling part of his community gave him comfort, reassurance, and a sense of belonging.” – Tsitsi, whose Dad lived with Dementia
Get support for your faith community
If you or anyone else in your faith community needs support around dementia, you can contact our Helpline to speak to an Admiral Nurse straight away.
Ricky and his gran
“As a Sikh, one of our main principles is ‘sewa’, which roughly translates to ‘selfless service’. It involves acting selflessly and helping others without any reward or gain. Gran’s journey with dementia has shown me that one way I can do this is by spreading awareness and understanding of dementia in my community.” – Ricky, whose gran lived with dementia, on how his faith has helped him navigate his grief
How to fundraise within your faith community for Dementia UK
We can help you to create something that feels right for your faith, traditions and community.
We can offer:
- a free fundraising pack with ideas and guidance
- materials to raise awareness of dementia in your community
- support from our Community Fundraising Team
- talks to provide information about dementia for your faith group
Fundraising ideas for your group
If you’d like to raise funds or awareness for families affected by dementia, here are some ways to get involved:
Coffee mornings or shared meals
Get together over tea, coffee, lunch or a shared meal, with the option to donate. This could be a coffee morning, parish lunch, community breakfast, iftar or another gathering that suits your faith group.
Faith-based awareness events
Invite us to give a talk or share information to help your community better understand dementia and how to support one another.
Celebration or festival fundraising
For some communities, a festival, celebration or season of reflection may be a meaningful time to come together, raise awareness or support a cause. Your group could hold a collection, awareness activity or act of service around occasions such as Eid, Diwali, Christmas, Lent or Easter, Vaisakhi, Hanukkah or another date that feels appropriate for your community.
We have lots of ideas to help you get started. If you’re still not sure, you can check out our full list of fundraising ideas.
Contact our Community Fundraising Team
If you’d like to know more about how you can support people living with dementia by raising funds and awareness, we’re here to help with information and advice.
Ronnie
“When I was diagnosed with dementia, I told only the minister and a few others at my local church. I couldn’t help but feel like I was being forced out, and that I was no longer of value. It was only when I joined my current church community that I truly felt safe and welcomed. When I told them about my diagnosis; they were hugely supportive and told me that they look out for one another. I cannot put into words how important inclusive faith-based spaces are. They say a church is just a building, but it means so much more to me than that.” -Ronnie, who lives with young onset Alzheimer’s disease
