Dementia Action Week is a UK wide campaign led by Alzheimer’s Society with the aim of bringing people and organisations together to take action on dementia.
To mark this, we want to celebrate our partners who play a vital role in improving the lives of people living with dementia, supporting them to access personal playlists in communities across the UK.
Among these partners are members of our Community Help Point Network – a group of organisations providing free and essential support for people living with dementia in their area. With two thirds of people who live with dementia living at home, ways to support them where they are and where they want to stay are crucial.
This where playlists can help.
We therefore want everyone living with dementia to have access to a playlist of songs that are meaningful to them, and for that the people who love and care for them to know how to use the playlists as part of dementia care and support.
Personal playlists are an affordable and accessible tool that can help people manage dementia symptoms wherever they are. When a person with dementia hears music that holds happy memories or is familiar to them, it can help reduce distressing symptoms like agitation and anxiety and it also helps them stay connected within their communities.
Watch the video below to learn how our help points – and health and social care professionals caring for people in the community – are successfully supporting people affected by dementia.
Playlist for Life supports a network of more than 2,600 community partner organisations called Help Points across the UK by providing free support and resources to help people in their communities create personal playlists.
A wide range of different community hubs offer practical information about how to make and use personally meaningful music to improve dementia care and wellbeing. This network has provided resources to around to 130,000 people across the UK to date and the network is growing.
Our first Help Point was established in 2016 by Reverend Helen Jamieson who has gone on to support many people and families affected by dementia with personal playlists. She said:
Being able to encourage people to use playlists enabled us to offer another form of support and something that people could do that they enjoyed and could also engage other people and family members. Often loved ones feel helpless in the face of dementia and it’s difficult to know how to support people. Carers say that people’s circles often shrink, leading to feelings of isolation and loneliness.
Playlists can enable reconnection, whether that’s with a community of people who are themselves living with dementia or someone in their community who’s willing to talk and listen to them, share information and help them. Carers describe that support as a lifeline.
Statutory services are really stretched these days so the role of community is vitally important for helping people affected by dementia, because there often isn’t much other support. Playlist for Life can be used in many different settings and is an invaluable tool in building relationships.
We’d love for you to get involved. Here are four ways you can bring the power of playlists to your community!
Having a personal playlist that’s ready to listen to at anytime is a great way to boost brain health. It can also support you to live well should you ever develop dementia. Or maybe you know someone who might benefit from a personal playlist? This video voiced by David Tennant will take you through the process of finding the right music and creating a playlist step by step. This video can be used by individuals and community groups.
If you are a health and social care professional and want to know more about using personal playlists in dementia care, our specialised training will equip you with the skills and knowledge you need. We also have a free training course for students, and offer free free support webinars for people living with dementia and their family, friends and unpaid carers.
£10.00 provides five people with a Playlist for Life resource pack which can support them in creating a personal playlist to help them live well with dementia. Make your donation here.
We want everyone to know about the power of personal playlists for people living with dementia. Help us reach more people by telling someone you know about us; sharing this blog post or sharing our social media posts!
